Voyagers Saga: The Sundered World
by Cydra
Summary: Outlawed in most of Nullspace, Matt Lynch's crew return to the planet of Avalar to regather their forces. But trouble is equally abundant on Avalar. Civil unrest is prominent and there are more than a few villains who are fanning the flames. It'll be a full-time task to keep everything from falling apart all around them.
1. Rude Re-Entry

**Voyagers Saga**

**The Sundered World**

**Chapter 1: Rude Re-Entry**

Janeth walked through the halls of the Shar-Virks' new ship. "That idiot's going to get us all killed," he muttered, arriving at Taleth's quarters, knocking.

"Go away," said Taleth's voice, not putting as much force into it as usual.

"Sir, she's gone again. This time she took one of the shuttles," said Janeth through the door.

"Does it sound like something that warrants my concern?" asked Taleth's voice dryly.

"Yes...if she's caught, she could lead any number of enemies to us. The crew still haven't got the weaponry online," said Janeth with a sigh.

"Do you know where she's gone this time?" asked Taleth tiredly.

"We have the shuttles all tagged. She's headed for Avalar." said Janeth

Taleth sighed before saying, "Yes that is concerning now. Find her before she does something foolish that we'll all be paying for."

"Sir...are you sure? It might be easier to cut our losses with her..." began Janeth, only for Taleth to snap. "AND GIVE THAT TRAITOR ANOTHER NOTCH ON HIS BLADE? NEVER!"

"Alright, alright, I shall recover her as quickly as possible," said Janeth.

"Be quick about it," said Taleth darkly.

...

The gang's new ship's shields flared as a plasma beam bounced off it, the few remaining Starfuries the gang possessed firing at the closing NSC cruiser.

A second beam perforated one of the fighters and smashed into the main ship.

On board everyone grabbed onto something. "We gotta shoot back or we'll never get to make the last jump!" yelled Techo.

"We can't just fire back on our old comrades!" yelled Matt before the ship shook again as the shields took another volley.

"They don't have any problems with that!" snapped Chris.

"Warning...shields offline...armor at 56 percent…" said the computer, causing Matt to sigh.

"Chris...fire rear guns," he said gloomily.

...

The gang's ships rear turrets blazed. Phase cannons hadn't been used since before the NSC began...as such, the pursuing cruiser's defenses didn't stand a chance, the cruiser shuddering under the impacts before exploding.

...

Matt simply walked out of the control center as the bridge crew began to send recall orders to the remaining fighters. "Hey Techo. You ever meet Stephen Murphy? Gunnery trainer at CPS?" asked Chloe, watching the last of the pursuing cruiser break up.

"Any relation to Slughead Murphy?" asked Techo.

"Brother, guy retired, last we heard he was given command of a NSC medium range cruiser..." said Chloe, nodding out the window to the ship.

"You don't think that was just any other cruiser, do you?" asked Techo morbidly.

"Not a chance," said Chloe grimly as the nameplate of the destroyed ship floated by.

Techo sighed and said, "That's the thing about civil war. Often you'll be fighting family of friends, old friends, or even just plain family."

"Ready for jump to...hey this can't be right, the computer says it's got a clear run to Avalar...no wormhole...this junkpile's got a rip engine!" said Chris, swearing as he realized what the readout meant.

"As in we could have zipped straight to Avalar without having to stop and fight?" asked Techo, sounding more morbid.

"Don't think so, think it's got a range," said Chris, Chloe saying darkly "Use it."

"I assume you're all familiar with basic rip engine safety," said WARDEN over the comm.

"Incoming jump points," said the ship's secondary AI, several NSC cruisers warping into vision.

"Never mind!" yelped Chris, hitting the confirm bottom...and reality seemed to become unhinged at the seams for a second, the view outside the ship seeming to melt into a kaleidoscope of color before solidifying into a fractured planet's orbit.

"Destination reached," said WARDEN, "I shall wait for a few minutes while you recover from the quantum whiplash."

"That tingled," groaned Chloe, before an Atlantean ship flew past the viewport.

"I think Zara's gonna yell at you again," said Techo cheerfully.

...

Matt would have hoped that Zara would have stepped down from her position as Fire Guardian during the time they've been away. But she was still at her job and hadn't mellowed one bit.

"I saw the news. They're saying you're terrorists...and given you appeared with wreckage around you from your _own ships_ I'm willing to believe them!" snapped Zara angrily.

"Hey, they were the ones who joined sides with the Empire," said Matt, "That wreckage was caused by self-defense."

"They made peace with an enemy, that's politics," snapped Zara angrily.

"Peace with an enemy? Are you forgetting that it was those creeps that set Malefor and his generals loose after they were sealed up in the core?" asked Matt, "How could anyone possibly make peace with them?"

"Just what I'd expect a warrior to say. Needless to say, the Council is debating what should be done with you and your fellow rebels," said Zara loftily.

"Please tell me this someone's horrible idea for a joke," groaned Matt.

"It is not. We just got out of a war with Malefor, we do not need another. We're still rebuilding Warfang," snapped Zara.

"This might not seem like the right time, but I have an offer that should increase the rebuilding speed dramatically," said Chip, "My team of expertly-skilled construction robots can have your city rebuilt, refortified, and upgraded to the highest available standards in no more than a week. And we have a very special discount of 60% off for the first month and 40% off for the second month."

Matt glared. "CHIP! THIS IS NOT SALES PITCH TIME...what's with the discounts though?" he asked.

"The Constructions were stuck on a barren moon for months," said Chip, "They're all but completely stir crazy and practically begging for any work they can get."

Zara glared at Matt before saying, "Leave your little robot here and we will discuss such a deal. You can leave."

"I'm a cyborg," said Chip, a tiny bit annoyed.

"I don't care," said Zara calmly.

...

Matt stomped out of the room and ran into Spyro. Since the Dark Ones had annihilated Warfang, most of the dragons had moved into the Atlantean colony with Morgan and the remaining Atlanteans. "Er, I guess Zara didn't have anything nice to say," said Spyro.

"Nope, the Council's having a vote on if they should giftwrap me to McNeil or not," said Matt bitterly, looking around.

"No Cynder?" he asked curiously, shifting to dragon form to meet Spyro eye to eye.

"Well, no, she's back home," said Spyro.

Matt raised an eye ridge as he realized. "Well, well...you sly dog, you," he said with a grin as they walked away from Zara's quarters.

"Yeah, shame you couldn't be here for the mating ceremonies," said Spyro.

"I've had my own share of problems. We found Kala by the way," said Matt.

"Oh great, er, she's not still Kai, is she?" asked Spyro.

"Nope, all cured in that aspect," said Matt happily.

"Great, so, have you two done your mating ceremony yet?" asked Spyro.

Matt nearly choked at that. "Dude...really? Humans don't ask that sort of thing," he managed.

"Well, you're not completely human, are you? You're part dragon," said Spyro before sniffing Matt and said, "And part something else apparently."

"Is there a neon sign over my head?" said Matt gloomily.

"Well, your magic level has increased pretty dramatically," said Spyro, "Any dragon or magic user could pick that up."

"Wonderful. Anyway, Kala's having to go through the same mental tests I had. Dunno when she'll be finished but I was told no visitors," said Matt.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," said Spyro, "So, if you're not too busy, you wanna come by my place?"

"Sure, I don't think we're going anywhere. We're gonna wait, see if anyone else makes it here," said Matt, cheerfully.

...

As they were flying to Spyro's home, they were joined by Chloe. She seemed in a right cheery mood now that she was back on Avalar. After a few minutes, Matt said "Ok, who's injured? You're grinning so that means someone else is unhappy."

"Who says that I have to hurt someone to be happy?" said Chloe, "I'm just thrilled to be back here and among dragons who appreciate us."

"Xephros tried to hit on you, didn't he?" said Matt bluntly.

"He bit off more than he can chew, so I gave him enough of a toothache to discourage that," said Chloe happily.

"Ouch," winced Matt before Chloe looked at Spyro.

"So...how have you and Cynder been?" she asked.

"You'll see in just a minute," said Spyro.

The trio flew round to see they'd crossed the city's perimeter wall to see several Warfang style houses just outside the city. "Interesting digs," said Matt cheerfully, looking down to see dozens upon dozens of dragons of all sizes walking or flying around

"We've had to expand quite a bit with all the new dragons," said Spyro, "I believe there has been talk about sending off some dragons to found a new city to keep Warfang from overpopulating."

"How is the rebuilding going? Those things did a number on it," said Matt casually.

"Well, the Atlanteans have been helping out a lot, but they've also been busy with their own construction," said Spyro, "It might take quite some time until Warfang's completely restored."

"Chip might help with that," said Matt carefully as the trio began to descend towards a home near the outskirts

"Chip? How so?" asked Spyro.

"I'll tell you later," said Matt, "First I wanna see Cynder."

"Oh?" said Matt, as they landed on the house's balcony.

"Just give me a minute to let her know you're here," said Spyro, "She tends to be a bit...overprotective when surprised."

The Lynches waited as Spyro went inside as Chloe looked out at the dragon homes. "This feels a little wrong. I can see at least one species not being represented," she said carefully.

"Would that be the cheetahs or the moles?" asked Matt.

"No...the wyverns," said Chloe looking around.

"Those guys? I thought they would have moved to the mainland by now," said Matt.

"Me too," said Chloe darkly.

"We'll have to check up on them once things have calmed down a bit," said Matt.

Spyro came out at that "You can come in now." he said

Matt and Chloe walked in and soon found Cynder crouched in front of the fireplace. At her side was a straw nest with a single large purple egg in the center of it. "Matt, Chloe, it's good to see you again," said Cynder.

Matt nodded "Good to see you two are ok as well." he said cheerfully as Chloe went up to the egg. "Aw…so cute..." she said getting a goofy smile, Spyro rolling his eyes

"Yes it is and I think it won't be too long before it hatches," said Cynder proudly.

Chloe just smiled happily she and Cynder starting to chat while Matt said "Hey...Spyro. Could we talk outside? Something Chloe mentioned is bugging me."

"Certainly," said Spyro who looked a bit relieved to get away from the girl talk.

Once outside, Matt asked "So...where are the wyverns?" Matt asked bluntly once they were outside, a couple of passing dragons pausing at that

"The wyverns?" asked Spyro, "As in those two-legged dragons?"

"Yeah," said Matt.

"Well, they don't live here," said Spyro.

"Why? There's plenty of room here," said Matt.

"Well, the other dragons don't really like them," said Spyro.

"Oh...why?" asked Matt.

One of the watching dragons glared at that, "Why are you talking about those monsters like that?"

Matt turned and asked, "When did they get categorized as 'monsters'?"

"When they went around murdering innocent normal dragons," said the second dragon loftily.

"When was that? When your parents were telling you to be good little hatchlings?" asked Matt skeptically.

The two dragons growled angrily before backing down at a glare from Spyro. After the dragons left, Spyro said, "The wyverns weren't completely unknown to us before we found them. There have been unpleasant stories about them that have been passed down for generations."

"Given they tried to toss us down into a reactor. Some of it's probably justified but it was all a misunderstanding though. They listened to that crazy AI like it was a god," said Matt.

"And since then they've been leaderless," said Spyro, "They won't work with anyone who isn't like them. It's not their fault that they're the way they are, but they aren't making any effort to move past that."

"Won't or can't? You saw those two," said Matt, a little too harshly.

"You knew how hard it was for dragons to accept humans," said Spyro, "And humans didn't have as bad a place in legend."

"Damn...that sucks," said Matt gloomily.

"I'd like to be able to help the wyverns too, but the council's decision about whose side they'll be taking is of a more immediate concern," said Spyro.

"Yeah...what is with that council? I thought a vote between 4 dragons would be quick," said Matt.

Spyro smiled, "New council. It was Morgan's idea. An Atlantean and Avalarian combined council. 12 people, 6 from each side. They offered me a position."

"Well...it's not like you haven't earned it," said Matt, "So that'd be you and the guardians, who's the sixth?"

"Xander," said Spyro, referring to the dragon form locked Shar-Khan.

"Wouldn't he technically count for the Atlantean side?" asked Matt.

"Nope, full Avalarian," said Spyro

"Good for him, means one vote for our side," said Matt.

"Not exactly, he abstained," said Spyro.

"Oh, I guess he'd be a bit too involved to give a fair judgment, even if it would have the right one," grumbled Matt.

"Yeah, Morgan's not voting either," said Spyro gloomily.

"Do I know any of the Atlantean councilmembers?" asked Matt.

"Just Morgan," said Spyro.

Matt sighed and said, "Looks like I'll have a lot of convincing to do. Fortunately, I don't have anything to keep me distracted from that."

Spyro nodded before a small darkness dragon phased out of the shadows behind them and yelled "MAIL!" causing Matt to shriek and fall over.

Spyro gave the shadow dragon an annoyed look and said, "Void, why can't you just fly through the window like a normal dragon?"

"Where's the fun in that?" said Void in a hyper voice before looking at Matt who was twitching, "Is the wuss ok?"

Chloe walked out and asked, "I heard Matt scream, what startled him this time?"

Void spotted Chloe at that and shot up next to her "Hey there, hot stuff? Wanna join the dark side?"

"Been there, got a T-shirt, tore it up, also you're a creep," said Chloe before zapping him.

Void was sent flying Spyro facepawing before grabbing the scroll that Void had dropped. "Ignore him. He's hooked on human coffee," he said calmly, before looking at the scroll, "Well, it says it's for 'Lynch' but you scorched off the first name." Spyro unrolled and read it, "Please come to the temple so that we may go over your upcoming mating ceremony. Signed, Councilor Zara. P.S. Before I forget, congratulations about your engagement. I'm sure you'll appreciate your mate when you've met."

Matt looked at it before getting a goofy look that Chloe sighed at seeing. "Kala must be out of lockup," she said as Matt shot off in the temporary temple's direction.

Spyro and Chloe followed. "I hope Matt's not going to be too disappointed if Kala's not out yet," said Spyro.

"What do you mean?" asked Chloe.

"Well, there's an old law that a dragon can claim a mate while they're absent if they've been away long enough," said Spyro, "Of course nobody uses it anymore."

Matt, who was a little ahead slowed down at that, "Sorry? You mean this could be a complete stranger?"

"Well, possibly, yes," said Spyro, "Of course, it might not have been your name that got scorched on the scroll. Given her popularity, I wouldn't be surprised if this scroll was meant for Chloe."

Chloe glared, "I wasn't engaged to anyone."

"No, but someone could have basically taken the first place in line to, well, court you," said Spyro.

"If I kill them, does that discourage anyone else?" snapped Chloe, causing Spyro to yelp.

The trio landed outside the temple to see Zara looking annoyed. "It's about time you showed up," said Zara, "Now then..."

"I can't believe you've set me up to be married off to some complete nobody!" snapped Chloe, "I don't care who he is, who he's related to or connected with, I'm not being handed off like that!"

"Oh, you're not the one whose claw has been asked for," said Zara, "Your brother is."

Matt sighed happily. "Finally. I'll want some peace and quiet with Kala..." he began only for Zara to say "Kala is still in her studies with Councildragon Xander." causing Matt to gulp.

"Wait...then who is..." he began before a high pitched 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' was heard and a blur tackled him down.

Matt's eyes were still spinning after the impact so he couldn't quite tell who was saying, "I've been sucha long to see ya again. I bet ya missed yer bonny lass, didn't ya? We're gonna make such music together."

That accent quickly got his brain working again...and Matt trying to drag himself free. "GET OFF ME, YOU NUTCASE!" he yelled.

"Now that we're back together again? I'm never gonna let you out of my sight," said the albino dragoness as she hugged Matt closely.

Spyro just stared in confusion as Chloe laughed her herself breathless. "What's with that girl?" he asked confused as Matt started trying to strangle his attacker.

"She says her name is Keenai," said Zara dully, "I'm not quite certain where she's from but she says she's a fear dragon."

Chloe managed to get her breath back. "Oh we've met...she's one of Taleth's pet idiots," she managed before starting to laugh again.

"What? She's a Shar-Virk? How could she have gotten here? What could have possibly convinced Zara to allow her in the city? And why is she calling Matt 'my beloved earbreaker'?" asked Spyro.

"She has broken no Avalarian laws. Taleth and his other followers set in motion events that destroyed Warfang and nearly the whole planet, one of them helped Malefor. She has done nothing. She will be allowed to make her challenge," said Zara loftily.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR SMEGGING MIND?!" screamed Matt as he was trying his way out of Keenai's embrace.

"Well, if she is a fear dragon, she's apparently very good at what she does," said Spyro.

"Keenai, for the final time, I hate you. I wouldn't be your mate if we were the last people in the multiverse!" snapped Matt, trying to push her off.

"Ah, you're just nervous right now," said Keenai, "But we'll have centuries ta get used to each other."

Matt glared. "Don't make me si-oh wait, you like that," Matt said angrily before getting a gloomy tone as he realized his usual threat to deafen someone with his singing would have the opposite desired effect.

"Oh yes, sing to me. Show me how you've mastered cacophony. Teach me to inflict as much audial pain as you do. Sing and show the universe why we were meant for each other," said Keenai wildly and starry-eyed. Matt glared before grabbing a rock and clonking her on the head. "That's a good start," Keenai gibbered before passing out.

Matt quickly crawled away from Keenai before snapping at Zara, "I refuse to go along with this. I don't care what I have to do, there has to be some way out of this arrangement!"

"Oh, I'm afraid you can't get out on your own," said Zara delightedly, "You'll have to have a contender for your claw challenge her."

"Where's Kala?" snapped Matt furiously.

"Still at her studies. But she won't be able challenge her yet," said Zara, "She hasn't been officially registered yet."

"Tough cheese. I refuse to marry her. What are you gonna do about it, eh?" snapped Matt.

"Well, you can always choose abstinence," said Zara.

"I choose neither. I'm not marrying the psycho bitch!" snapped Matt angrily.

"Well, you have time to change your mind," said Zara, "Keenai's only been here for less than a week. I'm sure Kala will be able to challenge her before the allotted time runs out."

"There's a time limit?" snapped Chloe.

"There's a week after the claim's been made for contenders to make a challenge with the betrothed's claw," said Zara, "After that, the arrangement is set and the betrothed is either mated or takes on a life of celibacy. Though there have been times when the betrothed prefers to take their own life."

Chloe twitched at that, "That's the most medieval, barbaric and backwards law I've ever heard."

"It isn't that backward," said Zara, "A few centuries ago, only male dragons can stake claim to mates. Those were the betrothed most likely to kill themselves. Most males prefer celibacy."

Chloe's twitch got worse at that. "What a modernized law," she said sarcastically before looking at Spyro, "Do something or die!"

"Do you have any idea how long it takes to reform or repeal a law?" asked Spyro, "Because I certainly don't."

"Think of something!" snapped Chloe.

"Well, I could arrange for Kala to challenge Keenai in absence. That'll postpone the whole thing until she's able to finish with her studies and registration," said Spyro.

"Do it," said Matt darkly.

"Ok, ok, I'll make the arrangement," said Spyro.

"Of course, that doesn't keep Keenai from courting you in person," said Zara smugly, "She can't be sent away and you're required to accept at least one invitation from her a day."

Matt glared. "What the penalty for attempted incineration of a dragon guardian?" he asked evilly.

"Death," said Zara dryly, "And don't even try it. I'm a lot more skilled than you think I am."

"It'd be worth it," said Matt, only for Keenai to tackle him and glare at Zara "Doncha dare touch me darlin'."

Matt rolled his eyes and said, "I just got back from months among Scots, can you please not talk like them?"

Keenai gave Matt a hurt look and said, "I'm not Scottish, I'm Irish, can't ye tell?"

"No, you still suck," said Matt, Keenai pouting before crushing Matt's brief hope by saying "I'll be anything ye want."

"I want you to be gone!" snapped Matt before flying off, Keenai close behind him.

Chloe sighed before saying, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you, Zara?"

"Yes, but they still make a cute couple, don't they?" said Zara sweetly.

"He'll find a way to get his revenge, you realize that, right?" said Chloe dully.

"He's caused me enough headaches. The headache he suffers from this will be worth it," said Zara.

"You're a piece of work," said Chloe scornfully only for Spyro to say "That's why she's not on the combined council." causing Chloe to start grinning

Zara snorted and said bitterly, "Like I don't have my own claws full enough to have to deal them," before flying off.

Spyro sighed. "We'd better go find Kala," he said before there was a crash as a living fireball landed in front of them, revealing Kala, wearing a new dragon amulet necklace.

"WHERE IS SHE?" she said manically, glaring at the two

"Kala, you passed your exam, that's terrific," said Chloe conversationally.

"SCREW THAT! WHERE'S THE BITCH HITTING ON MY BUSHI BU?!" roared Kala.

"They went thatta way," said Chloe pointing.

Kala roared angrily, causing Chloe and Spyro to fight to get behind each other before Kala said "Oh yeah, congrats on the egg, Spyro. Now then, where was I?" before roaring angrily and taking off.

Once the shock wore off, Chloe said, "We have to go quickly."

"To warn Matt?" asked Spyro.

"No, to not miss the show," said Chloe before flying after Kala.

...

Matt peered from a rooftop before taking off again as he spotted Keenai, finally ducking into a half-built building.

"She couldn't possibly follow me around all day, can she?" he muttered to himself.

"Hey, who's there?" said a high-pitched voice above him, Matt looking up to see several wyverns in the rafters of the uncompleted roof.

"Oh, hi there," said Matt, "Didn't know anyone else was here."

"I know you. You were there when the Great One sank," said another wyvern sternly.

"Er, that might be me," said Matt, not certain if that would be a good thing or not.

Several of the wyvern landed around him before one of them said, "Have you been sent to throw us out?"

"No, not at all," said Matt, "Why should you be thrown out?"

"The dragons and humans do not want us here. They chase us and hound us and invent laws that we have broken," said another wyvern

"The humans too?" asked Matt sternly.

"Yes, they fear that some of the dragons would act anyway," said the biggest wyvern.

"Well, I'm going to have a stronger word with the dragon council," said Matt.

Just then, a voice above echoed, "Oh precious destructor, where are you?"

"As soon as I've shook off my banshee stalker," added Matt.

The wyverns watched as Matt flew off through the roof before a fear dragon smashed through the wall. "Where aaaare yooou?" she called.

"Think it's time to move again?" asked a wyvern.

"I think so. A guard is probably following those two," said the leader sadly.

The fear dragon ignored the wyverns and called, "Darling, if ye keep playin' hard ta get you're goin' ta make me edgy!" The last word kept out a lot shriller and louder and made all the wyverns cover their ears in pain.

One wyvern however snapped, "Hey! Shut up!"

Keenai turned and gave the wyvern a predatory grin. "Did I hear that quite right? Did ye tell me to shut up?" she asked.

"Yeah...I...I..." began the wyvern before starting to wince, blood coming out the wyvern's ears and eyes before it keeled over dead, Keenai ceasing her ultrasonic blast

"Now then, how about I put the fear of Keenai into all of ye?" said Keenai to the other dragons before letting out a loud banshee wail that caused all the wyverns to start fleeing in terror.

She smirked as the last ones fled before the door was knocked down by several dragon guards. "What happened here?" one of them said, seeing the dead wyvern.

"Oh, those overgrown bats thought they could attack little ol' me," said Keenai, "I quickly proved them wrong."

"Fine, they're nothing but vermin anyway," said the first guard.

"Quite so," said Keenai.

"What were you doing here, if you don't mind the question?" asked the second guard.

"Been tryin' to find me mate, he's been rather coy lately," said Keenai.

"Ah, Zara said something about that," said the second guard.

"Yes, you wouldn't happen to have seen him, have you?" asked Keenai.

"Who is your betrothed?" asked the guard.

...

Matt decided the best place to stay at would be the one dragon Keenai wouldn't want to tangle with. Cynder was trying not to laugh at the story. "So...this 'Keenai' is some sort of proto-Shar Virk?" she managed.

"I dunno. Taleth apparently uplifted a banshee," said Matt.

"Wow, finally someone who can appreciate your singing," joked Cynder.

"Kala likes my singing..." muttered Matt.

"Of course she does," said Cynder carefully before she noticed her egg wobbling. Cynder quickly moved back to her egg and began muttering soothing things.

Matt watched until Cynder had finished before saying, "It's not going to explode, you know. No need to be a mother hen."

Cynder glared at Matt and said, "Spyro and I were taken from our homes while we were still eggs while all the other eggs were smashed. I will not let anything like that happen to my egg."

"That was while Commander Nutty Brain aka Malefor was on the loose. He's dead and buried...twice," reminded Matt.

"They say that when a villain is struck down, it leaves an opening for another to take their place," said Cynder.

"True, but that's why I always have a spare bullet," said Matt.

"I'm worried about your war," said Cynder, "If McNeil got free range here, you can bet that our child would be one of his first picks."

"We're making our case to the council tonight...and I got all the evidence," said Matt.

"I hope you can convince them. This planet has been literally torn apart by war. Even if it's for the right reasons, there are many who wouldn't want to start another one," said Cynder.

"I know...I know…" said Matt, gloomily, adding, "I was there."

"Oh precious destructor..." called a voice outside. Cynder was rather surprised at the speed at which Matt was able to hide under the bed with.

Cynder sighed before walking to the balcony and peering out to see an albino dragoness. "Can I help you?" she said scathingly.

"I've come to see me darlin' devastator," said Keenai.

"Devastator's not here! I haven't filled in the form!" yelled Matt.

"There he is!" said Keenai happily, floating up with hearts for pupils.

"Go away! There's a big purple dragon here who'll blast you to next century!" yelled Matt.

Keenai peered in. "Spyro's not in here," she said cheerfully, Cynder glaring as Keenai flew past her and peered around. "Come out, come out…aw, an eggy..." she said, peering at the egg closely, only for it to wobble and bash her on the snout, making her eyes spin.

Cynder gave a proud look at the egg before saying, "Even if my mate is not here, it's still my house and I'm ordering you to leave."

Keenai glared before trying her ultrasonic blast. However, before Keenai could open her mouth, Cynder hit her with her own Fear Scream. Keenai found her voice dying in her throat, shaking in terror

"Now then, I'd like to demonstrate which of us has really mastered the fear breath, but I'd rather my egg not be exposed to it," said Cynder, "You will leave now and you'll leave Matt alone as long as he's here."

"Fine...fine. He'll have to come out at some point," said Keenai, managing to keep her voice steady. Keenai left out the balcony and Matt crawled back out from under the bed. "Would you like me to sing you a song?" called Keenai's voice, causing Matt to yelp and zip back under the bed.

"NO! GO AWAY!" yelled Cynder.

After a bit, Matt said, "If she hasn't left yet, tell the council I'm gonna be delayed."

Cynder smirked before saying at first jokingly, "She's setting up a temporary nest outsi...she _is_ setting up a temporary nest! GET LOST YOU...YOU SMEGHEAD!" Cynder yelled, going wide-eyed as she realized her joke was indeed happening.

"I'm starting to wonder if her being here when I'm supposed to be helping your council isn't a coincidence," said Matt darkly.

"It's just probably luck," moaned Cynder, nodding as Keenai sulkily flew away.

"Or maybe it's fate," growled Matt.

"No, the universe isn't that cruel," said Cynder harshly.

"Wanna bet?" said Matt sarcastically.

"Yes, if it was I'd not have a family with Spyro now. Yes, your life's been hard but you've met friends and allies...and Kala too as a result," Cynder continued.

"Right...speaking of which, I wonder if Kala's finished with her exams yet?" asked Matt.

On cue, a crash was heard on the balcony and a familiar and angry-looking fire dragoness stomped in, leaving little molten puddles where her rage melted the rock. "Kala, honey, your ears must be burning," said Matt, backing up a bit.

Kala turned to glare before her eyes softened and she ran towards Matt, nuzzling him. "Good, that little dragon slut didn't get you," she said happily.

"Of course not, I was just too fast for her," said Matt.

Kala nodded before saying, "It's official. Xander said I was all clear. He was surprised that I didn't have that split personality thing."

"Probably because you didn't live a life of angst and nerve-grinding torment before you got the upgrade," said Matt before his eye twitched a bit.

Kala laughed. "I've heard you sing, that's enough," she said, Cynder bursting out into hysterics at that.

Matt looked crestfallen. "But I thought liked my singing," he said disappointedly.

"Honey, nobody does, even you don't," said Kala, Matt opening his mouth before closing it and shrugging in defeat.

"It makes one wonder how Keenai could possibly like it," said Cynder.

"She said she wanted me to teach how to sing like that," said Matt, "Also I think she's a bit of a masochist, she's certainly sadistic.

"If she tried to steal you away…" snarled Kala, accidentally strangling Matt in her hug

"She hasn't...got a chance..." wheezed Matt.

Kala let go, sheepishly as Matt gasped before saying, "Zara said that Keenai had rights on you...tried to hook me up with that annoying dark dragon postman."

"Did you burn him badly?" asked Matt.

"He landed in front of me. Something had tazered him," said Kala.

"That'd be Chloe," said Matt, "Where is she anyways?"

"No idea. I saw her with Spyro earlier," said Kala.

Cynder shrugged and said, "I'm sure they're fine then."

…

Meanwhile, in a deserted area of the wyvern slums, a dark portal opened, Ghoulwyrm sticking his head our cautiously before hopping out. The dracolich looked around and said, "This is where the wyverns live? I'm rather disappointed. But I can still use this to my advantage."

He walked forward and yelped, ducking back as a trio of spiderbots went by. "Why, why, why?" he whimpered before sighing as the spiderbots ignored him.

After he calmed down, he said to himself, "Ok, Zyvar, if you're to be the next Dark Master of this world, you need make a spectacular impression and deal with those who would stand in your way. Yes, Zyvar, you've faced a lot of setbacks, a lot of humiliating defeats. But the playing field is open for you now. There's a void for a new stronger evil to fill and you're going to be that new evil. The time has come for Ghoulwyrm to be the most feared named in the cosmos. Soon all will shudder in terror at the very sound of...the Imperial March?" Ghoulwyrm paused in his self-motivation as he noticed the theme music building up wasn't just in his head.

Several spiderbots, the three that had passed him a few minutes earlier were bobbing up and down to the tune. "Oh no," groaned Ghoulwyrm before the spiderbots jumped on him...

...

A few minutes later, people would have seen a tin can bouncing down the street before the top finally popped off and Ghoulwyrm phased out of it, groaning. "Stupid technology," he groaned, "Third order of business after I take over Avalar: dismantle all spiderbots. Now then, let's catch up with current events."

He looked around before seeing a pillar with several holograms on it, an Atlantean news terminal. "Better then nothing," he muttered, assuming his 'Zyvar' form and padding over.

"Please select preferences," asked the system.

"Current events," said Zyvar.

"Top story: NSC council dissolves all current mercenary government contracts...CPS employee, Capt. M.J Lynch declared terrorist. Avalar council to debate extradition demands on Lynch's team," said the system calmly.

"Huh, I guess it was a good thing I left Earth when I did," said Zyvar before asking the news terminal, "What is the current state of Avalarian politics?"

"With the destruction of Warfang by Ashen battlecruisers, refugees have been given temporary dwellings outside New Capella. An allied council consisting of 6 Avalarians and 6 Atlanteans, including a guardian and a Shar-Khan is being created. Spyro Fly is slated to be the final Avalarian councilmember," said the system.

Zyvar snorted with laughter and said, "His last name is Fly? Oh man, there are way too many joke potentials with that. But embarrassing name or not, he could still pose a threat. What is the latest news about Spyro besides his political nomination?"

"He and Miss Cynder recently filed for parentship...warning...the remaining information has been declared classified by order of the Shar-Khan order," said the system

Zyvar walked away from the news terminal and said, "Well, that's as much information I'm going to get from that. I still need more though. Where does find out more about the personal lives of famous people? Oh, wait, right, in gossip magazines."

"Term 'gossip magazine' not recognized," said the terminal.

"Search for 'gossip'," said Zyvar, though not sounding thrilled.

"Note...the term 'gossip' refers to the method of illegally breaching individuals' privacy for the point of monetary gain. Request denied," said the terminal warningly.

Zyvar sighed and said, "Looks like I'll have to find out the old-fashioned way." He peered around to see a dark dragon wearing a mail bag and snoozing in the shade. "Meh, he'll do," said Zyvar, turning into smoke and going into the dragon's ear

The process was, well, not delightful. The main problem was picking through the relevant information among all the useless trash. He winced as he went through memory after memory before he paused, an interesting memory of Cynder next to an egg. "Well...that's one thing," he muttered.

Then Ghoulwyrm shifted up to the newer memories and found a particularly shiny nugget. Apparently Lynch was in more trouble than just with the NSC. "Ho hooo...so the rumors that Taleth's tried to make more Shar-Virks are true, a banshee at that too," sneered Ghoulwyrm before he felt the mindscape shake...his 'host' was waking up.

Having gotten what he needed, Ghoulwyrm vacated the dragon's head. "The opportunity is ripe," he said with an evil grin, "It's time to show Matt and Spyro what true heartache feels like." Ghoulwyrm reformed to see the dragon coming round, taking a deep breath to terrify the guy for fun when he felt something tie round his leg and he was dragged into an alley by a spiderbot's netgun.

Void shook his head to get his vision working to say "Wow, weird dream, almost thought someone was there," he said.

...

The next morning, Matt and Kala were cuddled up with each other when their sleep was interrupted by the sound of a loud jackhammer.

Matt's eyes shot open, looking bloodshot. Keenai had serenaded him 5 times during the night till the guards had dragged her off. He stomped to the windows and opened the door to scream "STOP THAT SODDING-" before pausing, seeing the Constructicons at work. They were laying down a lot of power lines, not to mention remodeling a few houses to be of sturdier material than just stone.

Matt yelled or them to cut it out, only for nothing to work given the noise. Matt finally gave up and slammed the window shut, going back to Kala, muttering. "How can there be road workers on Avalar?" moaned Kala.

"Chip brought them here," said Matt dryly, "All oil-guzzling six of them."

"Let's go blast Chip before breakfast," said Kala darkly, Matt nodding in agreement.

"First let me check if she's still out there," said Matt before sticking a flag with his face on it out the window and waving it around.

A happy squeal that made Matt and Kala wince was heard and they both said "She's out there."

Shortly after that, they heard Keenai trilling outside for Matt. Unlike Matt, she could sing on-key if she wanted. But it wasn't buying Matt in the least. Kala turned to see Matt trying to smother himself with pillows as a mirror shattered as Kenai hit a particularly high note

Then there was a 'splut' sound and Keenai's singing was cut off. Curious, Matt and Kala looked outside to see Keenai mostly covered by a blob of cement. Mixmaster could be seen shifting his cement cannon back into his arm. "That chick's got worse singing than you," he said before going back to work.

"How about we blast Chip only if he does something that annoys us?" said Matt.

"Knowing you, that wouldn't take too much," said Kala.

"True that," said Matt before a knocking was heard. Matt went to the door and opened it, showing two guards outside. "I know she's been disturbing the peace but I can't get her to shut up," said Matt without missing a beat.

"Not that, she says you have been avoiding her date," said one of the guards.

"What date?" asked Matt.

"By law, you have to go on one date a day with your chosen," said the second guard calmly.

"I never heard her actually say the word 'date'," said Matt.

"Tough," said the first guard, grabbing Matt, who should be noted was in human form at this point, by his shirt collar and walked out with Matt swearing like crazy the entire way.

"There's no rule against me coming along, is there?" called Kala.

"No, challenges can only be made on the third courtship day," said the guard, before shutting the door on her rudely.

Kala gave the door an annoyed look and said, "Fine, I won't join Matt and Keenai. I'll just follow them around until their little date is over."

...

Ghoulwyrm groaned weakly as he staggered through the streets, a tin can, probably the same one from last time, stuck over his front paw. He'd given up trying to remove it ages ago and was trying to ignore the weird looks he got as he clanked his way down the street. "Ok, dismantling of spiderbots has been moved up to second order of business once I rule Avalar," grumbled Ghoulwyrm.

His common sense reminded him that he should have added 'attempt' to that rule before he ignored it, ducking in to see Kala trying to get a meal and failing.

...

"Look, I have enough money. Just take it and give me my breakfast!" snapped Kala.

"And I'm telling you that, in the words of the humans, I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, especially those who wrecked Warfang," snapped the cafe owner.

"C'mon, you allow Matt to eat here and he's probably wrecked a lot more here than I did!" snapped Kala.

"He's a hero and one of the friends of the Dragon of Destiny," said the cafe owner loftily, causing Kala's eye to twitch from barely contained fury

"And why don't I count as that?" growled Kala.

"You released the monsters that destroyed Warfang," said the owner coldly, adding "Now go away before I make you."

Kala snarled and was just about to burn the cafe to the ground when a calm voice behind her said, "He's not worth it, Kala." She turned to see Spyro glaring daggers at the cafe owner who was suddenly looking sheepish. "Kala, if you want, we can go to someplace more open-minded," said Spyro.

"I'm actually trying to catch up with Matt so I can deep fry Keenai," said Kala calmly.

"You have nothing to worry about," said Spyro, "I don't care what kind of dragon she says she is, you're a lot stronger than her."

"Good. That means I can kill her quickly," hissed Kala, causing the cafe owner and Spyro to back up

"Maybe you ought to get some stress relief," said Spyro.

"I'm not stressed, I'm just hungry!" snapped Kala.

The cafe owner nodded rapidly. "On the house," he whimpered, having a waiter bring two plates of mutton over

"Thank you," said Kala sweetly. As the two ate, Kala asked, "Ok, did Keenai try to bother you guys today yet?"

"Asides from asking where Matt was, no," said Spyro, "She's worse than Ember was when she had a crush on me."

"Yeah, first person to like Matt's singing," said Kala.

"But I'm certain she doesn't stand a chance against you," said Spyro, "I bet you've only become closer since you've been reunited."

"Yeah...except for that time I was turned into a Night Fury," said Kala thoughtfully.

"What's a Night Fury?" asked Spyro.

"Local dragon for an uncharted dimension we found," said Kala calmly before snapping "EATING MUTTON!" before turning her attention to her much-needed late breakfast

"Er, okay then..." said Spyro nervously.

...

Ghoulwyrm glared from his own position. 'Man, she's got issues,' he thought before grinning to himself. "Well, well, well. Nothing says revenge like some forced marital conflict," he muttered before muttering something in ancient Avalarian, a silvery orb appearing in his hand before floating over and phasing into Kala's mutton. "If she has even half the passion that I think she does, this is going to be a spectacular show," chuckled Ghoulwyrm.

He then realized that he should probably get some distance to get an alibi, running off and getting several funny looks as he clanked away and round the corner, swearing a curse on spiderbots everywhere as he went.

...

After breakfast, Spyro and Kala decided to take a walk together. Kala's stomach felt a bit peculiar. Something didn't seem to be going right with that mutton.

After a minute, Spyro seemed to ask her something, his voice sounding distorted like it was from a long way away. "I think those jerks poisoned me," groaned Kala.

"No, they wouldn't dare, let me check," said Spyro, peering into one of Kala's eyes, "Maybe you're allergic to some of the herbs? It's your first Avalarian meal since you got Shar powers."

Kala's vision started to swim a bit, everything getting blurry. Except for Spyro for some reason. If anything, his image was getting sharper. "Erm...maybe I should take you to the healer?" said Spyro slowly as Kala got a goofy grin.

"Actually, I'm starting to feel a lot better," said Kala with a giggle.

"Yeah...I think you need to see the healer," said Spyro slowly.

"I don't need to see anyone except you," said Kala, somehow blushing enough to be able to be seen with her red scales.

Spyro gulped at that. "Yeah, you'd better come with me," he said.

"Oh, I'd go anywhere with you," said Kala, getting uncomfortably close.

...

The Atlantean doctor said calmly, "I've worked out what's wrong with her."

"She's just having a delusion because of an allergic reaction, right?" asked Spyro hopefully.

"No, she has moon fever as your people call it," said the doctor.

"How is that even possible?" asked Spyro, "It's not even mating season, let alone a mating moon."

"It looks artificial. Some sort of magi attack. Did she eat anything out of the ordinary?" asked the doctor.

"Just some mutton," said Spyro, "It couldn't have been caused by unfamiliar herbs, could it?"

"I doubt it. The city computers had all the herbs catalogued. None should have any effect," said the doctor calmly.

Spyro sighed and said, "Matt's not going to like this. I'm pretty sure he's not ready to handle an egg."

"That depends. I also detected a targeting matrix in the spell. The first male she saw was locked onto by it. Congratulations. You have a stalker," said the doctor calmly.

"You have got to be joking," said Spyro.

"I'm a doctor. I never joke. The matrix will wear off once it...finishes its mission. Maybe take one for the team?" said the doctor.

Spyro growled and said, "That's not funny."

"I think it's hilarious. The spell doesn't care who…uses it. Maybe convince her that her mate is you?" said the doctor before saying, "That said, that is your only choice. Now if you will be so kind, I have other patients waiting."

"Are you seriously suggesting that I have an illegitimate egg with Kala?!" yelled Spyro.

"That is your problem. The matrix is decaying as well but it could render her nuts if she doesn't do something. So find a way. Now please let me see another patient or I will charge you rent," said the doctor coldly.

Spyro growled before stomping out of the doctor's office and immediately getting glomped by Kala.

Spyro just sighed as Kala made happy 'nom nom's' on his horns. "The sooner you snap out of it..." he muttered

...

Meanwhile, Matt was trying to bide his way through his lunch date. At least with this one, they were in a human-sized restaurant so it wouldn't be quite so awkward.

Morgan had also apparently convinced the council to have a couple of newly-christened Shar-Khan watching Keenai from across the street at a cafe, one of them a psychic dragon variant. Matt knew this cause he had sadly communicated via telepathy that they in fact couldn't kill him as he was desperately thinking.

"So I hear ye got ancestry in Ireland," said Keenai.

"What makes you say that?" asked Matt dully.

"It's in your name, silly," said Keenai with a giggle, "The name 'Lynch' is of Irish heritage. It mean 'lynx'. It certainly fits with how much of a vicious top tier predator ye are."

Matt went a little wall eyed as he daydreamed about the aforementioned big cat mauling Keenai before he realized she was asking him something. "It's about half past two," he said desperately

The junior Shar-Khan all sniggered at that, especially the psychic who knew what Matt was daydreaming about.

Keenai glared. "I said, maybe we should go for a flight," she said shortly before Matt said absently "Can't...scared of heights." causing Keenai to go walleyed herself as her brain ran into the sheer wall of non-logic in that statement

After a brief second of confusion, Keenai said sternly, "Ye know, I can tell what you're really afraid of. It's part of me nature as a fear dragon."

"Ok then, tell, what am I afraid of?" asked Matt, obviously expecting amusement.

Keenai glared closely at Matt, so closely that Matt saw his two 'escorts' getting up threateningly before she said sweetly, "Yer scared of being the one left alive, ye're scared of all the friends ye made bein' killed cause of ya. It could happen..." she began only for Matt to lash out, his hand morphed to claws. Before Matt could really slash Keenai, she out a soft trill which quickly Matt's nerves turn into jelly, but it barely soothed his anger. "Now then, dinnae ye mommy ever teach ye not to hit a lass?" sneered Keenai before going rigid as a red ion blade ignited near her throat.

"I think this dates gone long enough for today," said the psy-dragon Shar-Khan, holding the blade.

Keenai gave the Shar-Khan an annoyed look before saying, "Fine then." As she got up to leave, she said to Matt, "See ye tomorrow. I'm sure little Kala will be all fired up ta meet me."

"Let it be known, Virk. If you come near Shar Kala, we are authorized to dismember you. Even Guardian Zara agreed to those terms," said the other Shar khan coldly, causing Keenai to pout.

"Spoilin' me fun," she complained, walking off

Matt growled and said, "How could that witch possibly think I could have the least bit of affection for her?"

"All that creature has to do is wait till the time is up. Even if she fails to get you, she succeeds in making you miserable," said the psy-Khan.

"You're right, I can't let her get to me," said Matt, "Besides I know Kala won't let me down. I know how much she really cares about me."

The psy-Khan nodded before shuddering. "The law of murphy has stirred," he said weakly.

...

Spyro was backing up from Kala who was still acting like she was drunk. "Kala, you need to get a grip. It's Matt you're...friends with, not me," he said desperately before flying over her head as she lunged.

"Matt? That thoughtless loser? Why should I care about him?" asked Kala before lunging for Spyro again.

"Ok, that was only your, erm, moon fever talking, not you," said Spyro, "Just try to think. What would Matt say if he found you with me?"

"Um...lucky dragon?" said Kala before managing to grab Spyro's leg.

Spyro yelped, pulling his leg free, his own mind thinking "Cynder's gonna kill me," before he sent a low level ice blast at Kala, hoping to discourage her

Kala shivered only slightly before her body temperature melted away the ice. "Hey, what did you do that for?" asked Kala, sounding normal for a second before she went goofy again and said, "You're supposed to be giving me flamey kisses."

Spyro yelped before dealing out a bigger blast that definitely overdid it, freezing Kala solid. Sadly this was just as Matt came in with a sigh. "Matt, er, how was your date?" said Spyro, quickly stepping front of Kala.

Matt hadn't noticed, looking at the floor. "Keenai's worse than Ember when she saw you for the first time. I may have to destroy her," he said gloomily, Spyro gulping when he couldn't tell if Matt was joking or not before Matt looked up. "What's with the ice block? I thought it's close to winter here," he asked, Spyro gulping.

"Er, well, it's for the, uh, ice box," said Spyro, "Can't let it run out and let the food spoil."

"You don't have ice boxes. I lived here for a year and would have noticed otherwise," said Matt bluntly.

"Oh, we recently had them installed," said Spyro.

"I never saw them, plus why are you in my room?" said Matt, his brain finally locking onto the obvious question as he tried to walk around Spyro to get a look.

"Oh, this was your room?" asked Spyro, "I guess I was so busy thinking that I didn't notice where I was going."

"That's good, get out please," said Matt when Spyro just stood there grinning desperately. Just then, the sound of cracking ice was heard. Spyro glanced over his shoulder to see that the ice was starting to melt.

"Spyro, you know me. So trust me when I say I will explode, literally IF YOU DON'T GET THE SMEG OUT RIGHT NOW!" snapped Matt, his eyes going a little bug-eyed.

Spyro gulped and said, "As you wish," before he left the room, quickly building up speed and flying out as fast as he could. Matt blinked as Spyro fled before his eyes fixed on his deep-frozen girlfriend...

...

Spyro winced as Matt proved he hadn't been joking as every window and door on his house exploded outwards. "Just keep flying. It'll get worse if I came back and Kala glomps me," he said to himself.

...

Ghoulwyrm had chosen one of the taller buildings to watch from because he was certain that Matt's temper would give out with a spectacular explosion. He was not disappointed.

"Oooooh..." he said appreciatively, summoning some popcorn to eat. "Oh, this is the most fun I've had since I met that Bram Stoker guy," he said cheerfully before saying, "That spell worked better than I thought...uh oh." He turned invisible as Spyro flew by...and rammed right into Chloe who wasn't looking where she was going.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" demanded Chloe.

"Sorry, I just had to get away from your brother," said Spyro.

Chloe sighed and said, "What did you do to tick him off?"

"Something's given Kala moon fever and she's after me," explained Spyro in an embarrassed voice.

Chloe stared before saying in a dull voice, "You are so dead."

"You think I don't know it?" asked Spyro, "There's nothing that can tick off a dragon more than another dragon going after his mate."

"Except maybe having another dragon go after his sister," said Ghoulwyrm quietly.

Chloe's head shot up at that, snapping "HEY!"

"Oh smeg," said Ghoulwyrm realizing that he's just rumbled himself. He quickly focused another moon blast but barely had enough time to get one going before he was zapped by Chloe. A blast narrowly missed him at that. "HAH! EAT MOON, LOSE-FHFHFHFHFHFHFHFHFH!" he yelled, shuddering as two lightning shots earthed in his horns and his shot flying wide. Ghoulwyrm staggered backwards before falling off the edge of the building.

Chloe grinned. "And that's probably who gave Kala the moon shakes, Spyro," she said smugly before pausing as she didn't get a reply. "Spyro?" she asked, turning slowly, dreading what she'd see.

Spyro's eyes seemed to be unfocused, but he seemed to be focusing on Chloe. "Chloe, you need to go, quick," said Spyro, "It's starting to build up and you don't want to be here when it takes hold."

"Oh no," said Chloe dully, facepawing before saying, "Don't take this the wrong way. It's just for a headstart." before sending a blast into Spyro's horns and then taking off. As Chloe flew off, she said, "Ok, I just have to keep lover boy away from me until whatever's affected him wears off. Should be easy with him too love-dazed to really focus."

...

Meanwhile, Matt was glaring at Kala. "You WHAT?" he snapped for the fourth time.

"I keep trying to get him to start the fun, but he kept giving me the cold shoulder," said Kala with a pout.

"WHAT?" snapped Matt, his eye twitching, "You're dumping me? Why?"

"Because you don't turn me on," said Kala simply.

Matt just twitched as his dragon side happily supplied what he needed to do: jump up and down on Spyro till the little girlfriend thief was the width of a piece of paper. "I'm gonna kill him!" snapped Matt.

"Oh, no you won't," growled Kala.

Matt glared before shifting to dragon and roaring in her face. Kala snarled and would have likely attacked Matt if he hadn't swatted her head with enough force to knock her out.

With that he turned his head and blasted a hole in the wall, his furious brain having decided there was no time for doors. He flew out of the hole with a thunderous roar. Though he wasn't the only one roaring in anger right now.

...

Cynder raised her head in surprise as she heard a couple of roars. One she didn't recognize but the other was easily recognizable. "Spyro? What is he roaring about?" asked Cynder before taking off.

She paused in place, looking back nervously at her egg before another roar got her attention. She stopped before landing on the balcony, not confident to leave her egg alone and still able to see, to her horror, Spyro flying above the roofs, roaring angrily as well as a familiar, except for a metallic front leg, blue dragon headed for him She turned to her egg and said sternly, "Don't go anywhere" before flying upwards.

...

Matt glared, homing in on Spyro before stopping to a hover. "OI, THIEF!" he roared. Spyro, however, flew right past him, not even paying attention to him. Matt paused for a second before his eyes narrowed. "Don't you turn your back on me..." he snarled, turning and sending a plasma blast at Spyro

Spyro did notice the blast and dodged it before snapping at Matt, "I don't have time for you. She's getting away!"

"Enough! You get your claws of Kala or I'll bite em off!" snapped Matt.

"Who cares about Kala? Chloe dared to turn down my claim and I need to catch her," snapped Spyro.

Matt's eyes went wide at that before he growled, "That's not any better. Get back here!"

"Try and make me," snapped Spyro before spitting a fire blast at Matt.

Matt rolled in the air to avoid the blast and spat a triple blast at Spyro, one after the other. Spyro was likewise able to avoid Matt's attack before shooting out an even bigger fireball which was met by Matt's equally big plasma orb, creating a colossal explosion in the air.

...

Ghoulwyrm winced from the blast before grinning from all the negative energy just from the two fighting before spotting Cynder closing on them.

...

The two male dragons were getting ready to attack each other again when Cynder flew in between them and snapped, "Enough! What has gotten into you two?"

"Out the way, Cynder. This little purple pest is hitting on Kala AND my sister!" snapped Matt.

Cynder gaped in shock before turning to Spyro and saying, "Please tell me it's not true." Spyro just growled at Matt and lunged at him, the two being sent sprawling downwards and into the street below, scattering pedestrians.

Cynder just hovered in shock before Chloe flew up to her and said, "Listen, Cynder, I know this looks bad, but it's not as it seems." Cynder snarled before whipping her tail out, the blade catching Chloe's cheek. Chloe winced in pain and said, "Ok, maybe I came in too early. But now is a really bad time to get jealous over something that isn't even real."

"You took Spyro!" snarled Cynder, her eyes getting a white glow before Chloe yelled "IT WAS GHOU-" before Cynder tackled her as well.

"Ok, since you're not going to listen to reason until I smack the rage out of you..." said Chloe before letting of an electric charge over her body.

Cynder yelped as the charge forced her back as well as into coherent rage rather than incoherent. "You thieving wretch!" she snapped, "We open our home to you and this is how you repay us!?"

Chloe sighed. "I'm not going to fight you. I have zero interest in Spyro. So please, just calm-" Chloe began only to be tackled by Kala who then leapt at Cynder.

Chloe took a moment to clear her head and asked, "What is..." Then she saw Kala and Cynder fighting each other very heatedly. "Oh, you've got to be kidding," she said.

Another explosion was heard from down the street where Matt and Spyro were, reminding Chloe that this fight would result in more than hurt feelings. Even if Matt survived, Spyro was one of the dragons at the moment that was deciding if they should be thrown to McNeil or not.

"I have to break this up quick," muttered Chloe, "But I can't do it alone." She activated her comm and said, "NegaMorph, have you noticed the big fight going on?"

NegaMorph's voice said, "Hell yeah. It's all over the local news net. Couple of drones are watching. Not that I need it, I can sense the emotions from here."

"Yeah, and some of it's artificial," said Chloe, "Ghoulwyrm sent some false love arrows at Kala and Spyro so that she's fixed on him and he's fixed on me."

"Damn. Think I read about something like that," said NegaMorph.

"Well he ought to be somewhere around here, laughing it up," said Chloe, "Find him, get Megan if you have to. Also, get anyone who can stop these guys from tearing each other's throats out."

"Got it," said NegaMorph before signing off.

Chloe sighed before looking at Kala and Cynder. "I supposed I'd have better luck dealing with them," she said before firing a lightning bolt at them. The two paused in shock as the bolt shot between them. "That's enough!" snapped Chloe.

However Kala and Cynder before turned and snarled at Chloe, "Spyro's mine!" before spitting a fireball and wind blast at her respectively.

Chloe yelped, managing to raise a static field in time to avoid any serious injury but she still ended up against a far wall. "This sucks," she muttered. As Cynder and Kala closed in on her, Chloe said, "Those reinforcements better not take long."

On cue, four anthro dragons landed on surrounding rooftops, led by a familiar water dragon, Morgan. "Ok, that's enough. Break this up!" he called. Unfortunately, the response they got was another fire blast and a fear screech. "Ok, shut them down," he said, nodding to two of his men who were holding modified staff blasters.

Chloe managed to pull herself up and called, "Wait, don't hurt them. It's not their fault they're acting like this."

"They're causing too much damage," snapped Morgan before the staff holders fired what looked like orbs at the feet of the dragons, which blazed into light, a shrieking noise echoing out that caused Chloe's head to swim even though she was far down the street.

When the light faded, all four of the warring dragons were knocked out. Chloe gave a sigh of relief and said, "Thank goodness. They would have leveled the city if they weren't stopped."

"We'll get them back to their quarters to sleep it off, but you need to tell me what happened out here," said Morgan, hopping down from the roof and looking up at Chloe

"It's complicated, but the shortest version is that Ghoulwyrm caused Kala to fall in love with Spyro and Spyro to fall in love with me. Well, 'in lust' is more appropriate and the other two got crazy jealous."

"Urgh...this is all we need," muttered Morgan, turning to two of his fellows and saying something in Atlantean, the two nodding and transforming to dragon form to fly off. "One of those is going to Miss Cynder's quarters, to look after her child. The other will inform city security to watch for our undead friend," he explained.

"And how are we going to deal with our two lovebirds when they wake up?" asked Chloe, "Matt and Cynder might be able to calm down, but those two are ensorcelled."

"It would be easier if they were locked onto one another. Spells like these are one-use only," said Morgan thoughtfully, earning a slap across the back of his head from an angry Chloe.

"That might not be such a bad idea." The two turned to see Megan.

"You do realize what you're suggesting, aren't you?" said Chloe in the warning tone she gave before she electrocuted someone.

"Not what you're thinking," said Megan, "I might be able to shift Kala and Spyro's attention to their correct partners, but it's going to be tricky."

"How difficult?" asked Chloe.

"About as difficult as redirecting a river," said Megan, "I think Ghoulwyrm's used a spell that's mean to transform a werewolf into its most savage form and attack a particular individual, but in the case of Kala and Spyro, well..."

Chloe glared. "Would you be able to do it?" she asked.

"In the words of Archimedes, 'give me a lever long enough, a fulcrum high enough, and I will move the world'. Though I'd settle for just a river," said Megan, "And by 'river', I mean Ghoulwyrm's spell, and by 'lever', I mean my magic, and by 'fulcrum', I mean a large moon crystal."

Chloe nodded, "Ok...what's a fulcrum?"

"It's the base on which a lever rests," said Megan, "Just get me a moon rock."

Chloe nodded, glaring at Morgan who said, "I'll make the call."

After Morgan walked away, Chloe asked, "And what are we to do with them after you've redirected that spell?"

"Well, we'll have to pair them with their respective mates, preferably in a soundproof room, and let the rest of the spell be, er, expended," said Megan, looking a little squicked.

Chloe glared at that, Megan making an 'eep' noise. "Can't you dispel it completely?" asked Chloe, clearly annoyed.

"Well, with werewolves, it's already complicated enough," said Megan, "In fact, the best way to deal with it is to isolate the afflicted one until the spell wears off. With its effect on dragons...I don't even know where to start."

Chloe snapped, "Fine, we throw Spyro and Kala in lock up till it wears off, end of trouble." before Megan snorted "Yeah. That'll end well."

Chloe glared at Megan which quickly made her be quiet. "I'm going ask this only once and I want a straight answer: is there no better way to deal with this?"

Megan gave Chloe a straight look and said, "No, not with my current abilities."

Chloe sighed. "Kala's gonna kill me and then Cynder's gonna kill Spyro...do it," she said.

Megan nodded and said, "I'll try to leech off as much of the...craze as I can, but I'm pretty sure it won't be enough."

Chloe nodded, "Just try."

...

Ghoulwyrm was a little sore on two things. First, he was disappointed that those meddlesome dragons hadn't killed each other and that irksome witch had managed to redirect his spell. He was also sore from being electrocuted. He looked at a newsfeed, saying how Kala's challenge had been postponed due to magic related trauma.

"Well, this is certainly annoying. But I must look at the positive side," said Ghoulwyrm, "For one thing, it's given me more time to inflict misery on that multi-breed wench. For another, I did collect quite a payload from that conflict."

He looked down to a glowing black crystal in his paw. "Yeah...one hell of a payload," he said.

...

After the spell wore off, Morgan insisted on a medical examination on the two dragonesses. The actual examination didn't take place until the afternoon due to both pairs being rather exhausted from yesterday's activities.

Chloe watched as Kala freaked out. "Look, it's probably nothing. It wasn't a real full moon so we'll be fine," she said.

Spyro and Cynder, on the other hand, were handling a bit better. "I'm looking forward to being a mother, but I'm not certain if I'm ready to handle two hatchlings," said Cynder.

"I was the one in season, not you," said Spyro, "There's a good chance it didn't take. And if it did, it won't be hatching immediately."

"That doesn't make me feel better," said Chloe venomously.

Cynder looked at Chloe and said, "Chloe, I can't help but notice that you seem a lot more agitated about this than any of us. Are you really that concerned or..." a tone of teasing entered her voice at this, "Are you feeling some jealousy?"

Chloe glared at that. "Next person to speak is electrocuted," she said.

Just then, Morgan walked into the room with a datapad. "That include him? Oops," said Matt before Chloe zapped him.

Morgan walked back in after the lightning stopped sparking and said "Spyro, Cynder, I'm afraid your egg will have to wait for a fellow sibling. The tests are all clean."

Spyro and Cynder both gave a small side of relief. "And I'm guessing it's the same for us, right?" asked Kala.

Morgan sighed sadly and said, "Yes, but it wouldn't have worked even if the circumstances were optimal."

"What?" said Chloe as Kala seemed to go white.

An Atlantean next to Morgan said, "I'm afraid your tests revealed heavy genetic damage, beyond what even our nanotech can repair. Maybe if we had access to one of our class 1 medical facilities...but no...it can't be done..."

"What, but how is this possible?" demanded Kala.

Morgan sighed and said, "I knew Alayshia back when the Atlanteans were in power. Not closely, but enough to understand his methods. Alayshia may be morally ambiguous, but he knows when it's not prudent to take risks. When the Shar-Khan was first designed, he made sure they wouldn't multiply too quickly before he was certain that the Shar-Khan design was the way that he wanted. He did so by basically locking the female's reproductive system and it's not too hard to imagine that he's done the same with the first batch of Shar-Ekta as well."

Kala and Chloe looked horrified at that, Kala looking ready to burst into tears. The other Atlantean said, "Once Morgan revealed you had been near the good doctor. I found evidence that your new nanites were programmed to damage certain genetic strands...I'm very sorry."

Matt grated his claws in anger as he snapped, "There has to be some way to undo it! What can be locked must be able to unlock!"

"Only Alayshia would know how to do that," said Morgan, "The only other option would be a total system hard reset and the odds of surviving that aren't normally good."

Matt glared at that before leaving, Kala running out after him.

"There's nothing you can do at all?" asked Spyro, "There's no way for them to have a child?"

"Well, nanites can't be...transmitted from males. The embryos only get them from the mother's womb," said Morgan, "So Matt may still be viable but I know that doesn't improve options in the slightest."

Cynder sighed sadly, "I can't believe that's happened to them."

...

Contrast to the dark pall that has fallen over our heroes, Ghoulwyrm was feeling quite chipper. And it wasn't just because he was enjoying the last bit of blood from out of a human, but it was from the guard that Morgan had placed to guard Cynder's egg while she was gone.

He dropped the lifeless body and strolled towards the egg, reaching for it...and finding himself against the far wall from a burst of convexity energy from the egg.

Ghoulwyrm winced before glaring at the egg. "You have inherited much of your parents' strength, I see," he said as he peeled himself from the wall, "You have great potential in you, but that is potential I cannot allow to happen." He charged up his lightning generators before firing a blast at the egg.

This was perhaps a mistake as the lightning flowed over the egg before gathering back on the side facing Ghoulwyrm, who groaned "This is turning into one of those days..." before the lightning was returned with interest as the protective enchantments did their job.

Ghoulwyrm nearly dropped as he was electrocuted again. "It appears that I may have to be blunter," said Ghoulwyrm before raising a fist. He was about to bring it down when he paused a moment to consider. Then one of his bandage tendrils reached out and grabbed a hammer that some carpenter had apparently been using. "This should do it," said Ghoulwyrm before wandering up to the egg and aiming a blow. "One omelet, coming up!" he snapped, bringing it down.

There was a flash of light, a bang and he found himself imprinted against the wall again, a hammer shaped hole in the wall next to him and his hand that had been holding it missing. "OH COME ON!" he snapped before looking out the hole, "Gotta admit though, that's impressive."

...

Matt had taken flight as soon as he was outside so Kala had to work a little harder to keep up. "Matt...wait...this isn't going to solve anything," she called. Matt ignored her and kept flying.

"Matt...please…" called Kala before jumping as Matt seemed to roll in the air before careening down to the ground. Kala immediately swooped down and caught Matt before he hit the ground. "Matt, what were you thinking?!" snapped Kala.

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star..." sang Matt disjointedly.

Kala raised an eye ridge in confusion before a hammer bounced gently off her head...followed by the far creepier draconic hand that landed on her snout. Kala's eyes crossed as she looked at the draconic hand. It hung limply across her snout before it started to twitch. She shrieked and slapped at the hand yelling, "Get it off me! Get if off me!"

A thud below her a second later made her realize that she'd just shed some important cargo, Kala looking down embarrassedly to see Matt out cold in the street below, a part of her proudly noting he'd landed on the rude cafe owner dragon from before.

Then her attention returned back to the zombie hand that she held in grip. She was about to roast it before it turned translucent and phased out of her claw. It then started flying back to one of the buildings. "Huh, never seen a zombie ghost hand before. Wait a minute, yes I have," said Kala with growing concern before noting that the hand was heading for Spyro and Cynder's house. "Oh no," she said weakly, heading off after the hand at high speed.

...

Ghoulwyrm was glad he took the time to pick that 'severed body part retrieval' spell. It saved a lot of time than just scrambling for the pieces himself. "Right, what have we got left?" he said, his head still smoking from the rebounded fireball spell that he had just tried.

He thought for a bit and said, "Well, I could always lay a curse, but it's going to have to be more subtle to get through the defenses."

He summoned his spell book and flipped through, muttering "No, no, no," as curse after curse proved too violent or not enough before he finally found one. "Perfect," he said, evilly.

However, as he was about to start, he heard an angry roar from not too far away. "Oh, not now," growled Ghoulwyrm. He sighed, readying a combat spell before he noticed a communication crystal. "Perfect, when in doubt, call the cops," he said to himself.

...

Kala was closing in on Spyro and Cynder's house when a pair of dragons wearing police bands appeared in front of her. "Hold it right there, miss," said one of the dragons.

"Get out the way, you morons!" snapped Kala.

One of the dragons spoke into his radio, "Suspect is showing aggression, seems to be willing to resist police."

"There's a zombie in that house!" snapped Kala, facepawing.

The police dragons gave each other disbelieving looks before the first dragon said, "Miss, please calm down."

"I'm not crazy! He's right there! You could open the door and sniff!" Kala snapped.

"Should we check on that?" asked the first dragon.

"She has presented no actual evidence supporting that," said the second dragon.

"Still, Councilor Spyro would have our hides if we didn't check on the safety of his egg," said the first dragon.

"Yeah, he'll have your hide," said Kala pointedly.

"Fine, you go check on the egg, I'll stay here with the suspect," said the second dragon.

The first dragon floated up and was about to open it before saying "This is stu-" before the door exploded. The police dragon was thrown back, stunned by the blast. The second one immediately started speaking through his radio for backup.

Kala however could see a shape rising rapidly on a column of smoke, a scream of 'MUUMMMYYYYYY!" vanishing skywards before it began to curve down, going to land far outside the city.

"Well, at least whoever tried to attack the egg only got a backfire for their trouble," said Kala.

The second police dragon peered in and said, "Egg's fine, you're coming with us though,"

"What? What for?" demanded Kala.

"We want to know how you knew someone was in there," said the first dragon dizzily before Matt staggered into view.

"Officers? We're under attack by hammer cannons," he gibbered, holding the hammer from earlier.

The two dragons gave Kala a suspicious look. "Uh, there's a funny story behind that," said Kala nervously.

"It flew out of nowhere, officer. Arrest this tool," Matt said dizzily, tossing the hammer at the first officer who was knocked out.

"Assaulting an officer, you're both coming with me," said the second police dragon.

"Yes, take that hammer to jail," snapped Matt. Kala sighed before smacking Matt upside the head.

Cynder and Spyro were next up, Cynder literally bowling the police dragons over as she shot inside. "What happened here?" demanded Spyro.

"Someone attempted to attack your egg...and failed spectacularly," said the second police dragon getting up unsteadily before Cynder came out, sadly carrying the ex-guard's body.

"And I got a good idea who that was," said Cynder, putting the body down so everyone could see the puncture wounds in his neck.

Spyro nodded before saying to the officer, "I can safely assure you that these two have nothing to do with the attacker,"

"Perhaps, but I need to gather up all the evidence I can," said the officer.

"Evidence? There's a guy with all his blood sucked out and a zombie ghost hand landed on my face. What more evidence could you want?" asked Kala.

"We have procedures, me-" began the police dragon only for Spyro to cover his mouth.

"I wouldn't," he said warningly.

"Yeah, besides, the defenses you guys left were more than enough to blow him away," said Kala.

"What defenses?" asked Spyro.

"Uh, the security spell to blast Ghoulwyrm off like a rocket," said Kala.

"Eggs usually have a little inherent defense from their element but...wow," said Cynder, looking at the damage with an impressed eye.

"Sounds like you're gonna have your claws full raising that kid," said Kala before looking a bit disheartened.

"Kala, it'll be fixed," said Cynder kindly, before a cracking nose got her attention.

Everyone's attention immediately focused on the egg, which was wobbling and making more cracking sounds. "Oh my, it's hatching, it's hatching!" said Cynder with panic.

"You two, go get a healer, quick!" snapped Spyro at the two police dragons who quickly took off.

"What can I do?" asked Matt, who was now more focused.

"Uh, go boil some water," said Kala.

Matt nodded, headed out the door, before pausing. "Hey, you just don't want me in the-" he began before what was left of the door slammed in his face.

"Ok, Cynder, try to calm down," said Spyro, "Take deep breaths."

"Right, you need to relax your muscles and...wait, this is an egg we're talking about," said Kala.

The egg was starting to crack, glowing faintly. "Erm, if it managed to blast Ghoulwyrm out, how much power is it going to let out when it hatches?" asked Kala, backing up.

The egg was now shaking violently before Kala ducked down...and a faint 'crick' was heard, the egg falling apart to reveal a dazed-looking, violet-colored baby dragoness.

"Oh, she's beautiful," said Cynder tearfully, quickly going over to nuzzle her baby.

The hatchling made a happy cooing as Cynder nuzzled her before Kala peered up. "No boom?" she asked.

"Of course not," said Spyro, "Our eggshells aren't that tough."

"Oh thank God," said Kala happily before a knocking was heard and the hatchling turned to look.

"Is that the crazy one?" it asked in a small voice, causing Kala's mouth to fall open with an auditable clunk.

"Probably, don't be too rough on him," said Cynder.

Matt finally opened the door. "Ok, why'd you smash the door on me?" he snapped before seeing the baby dragoness, "Oh...cute."

The dragoness turned to Spyro and asked, "Is he supposed to be my godfather?"

"Maybe. We're not sure yet," said Spyro with an exasperated sigh.

"She talks? Already?" asked Matt, sounding a little freaked out.

"We learn in the shell," said Spyro, "My dad said he was surprised when I popped out talking."

"How convenient for you," said Matt before falling over in a faint.

Kala looked embarrassed and said, "Maybe it's a good thing we can't have kids yet."

…

Meanwhile, in a faraway location, the last vestiges of an old power was trying to build up strength. Unlike the rest of dragon society, these small few were not content with the way the world was running. They believed that a superior power ought to be leading and they had gathered together to try and raise that power up.

"I'm sick of the wyrm always putting us down," complained one teenage dragon, charcoal dubbed under his eyes.

"Yeah, always thinking they know what's best for the rest of us," said another teenage dragon, "Who gives them the right?"

One, wearing glasses, pointed out, "They did save the world several times."

"Shut up, nerd!" snapped a slightly older one, "Why'd we have to bring him along?"

"Because mom would ground me if I didn't spend more time with him," said another.

"That's right. Though I still think this human drink...coffee's not well. Look what happened to Vipra," said the brother, pointing to a poison dragoness wearing a mad wide-eyed grin.

"Humans, don't get me started on humans," grumbled the first dragon before there was a pause and he asked, "Well, isn't someone gonna get me started?"

"No, you tend to whine," said a fourth dragon, smirking before they all heard a descending whistling noise.

"Oh boy, the coffee machine is coming," said Vipra before twitching.

The other dragons looked at her confused before something crashed through the roof and down through the floor, screaming the entire way, before screaming something else.

"What was that?" asked one of the dragons.

"Whatever it is, it's spilling a lot of garlic seeds all over the place," said another.

A more agonized scream came from the bottom, sounding like something yelling "OH COME ON! NOT EVEN I'M THIS EVIL!"

"Wanna go check it out?" asked a dragon.

"Sure, why not?" said another.

The group headed down before wincing, seeing what was clearly a corpse of a dragon inside one of the garlic seed silos. "Ew, gross," said one of them.

"Guess we'll need to start hanging out somewhere else," said another.

They were about to leave when the body twitched and a muffled voice said, "Let me out before you go."

The dragons jumped back at that. "He's still alive?" asked one of the dragons.

"Let me out of here, you cretins!" snapped the voice angrily, the legs thrashing.

"What do we do with him?" asked one of the dragons.

"Well, we can't just leave him here. Let's take him back to the lair. Maybe those guys will know what we can do with him," said one of the older dragons.

"Lair...as in dark lair?" said the voice hopefully.

"I think it's pretty dark," said the dorky one.

"Shut up, nerd!" snapped another dragon.

"LET ME OUT OF HERE, YOU LITTLE MAGGOTS!" screamed the voice, adding, "It smells horrible in here."

"So who's gonna be grab him?" asked a dragon.

"Ew, not me," said a dragoness, "He's probably got worms in him."

Just then, the silo burst into purple flames and the voice roared with demonic fury, "TAKE ME TO YOUR LAIR NOW OR I'LL TURN YOU ALL INTO WORMS!" He stopped and looked miserable when the dragons burst into applause. "I hate this planet," he moaned.

* * *

There's the newest story. It's connect to my co-author's earlier Spyro stories so you might want to read them for some context. But as you can see, there's gonna be quite a bit of a rough road for the gang from various angles. This isn't going to be as long a story as some of my other stories, but there's definitely things in here that you don't want to miss. I'll be updating at least once a fortnight, but I'm hoping on making this a weekly thing. Keep an eye out for the next chapter and please review.


	2. Revenge SVP

**Voyagers Saga**

**The Sundered World**

**Chapter 2: Revenge SVP**

Most of Warfang was still awaiting repair or even demolition to make way for a full rebuild. As such it was deserted, nobody paying attention to small group of dragons carrying a complaining box along the streets.

"Ouch, careful out there. Haven't you ever heard of gentle handling?" snapped the voice in the box.

"Sorry, oh lord of darkness, we're almost there," said one of the dragonlings as they headed into a small building that was miraculously and mostly intact before they opened the box and upturned it.

A jumble of undead parts fell out of the box, a good lot of it was burned or broken. But the skull was still in good enough shape to give an annoyed look. "I wouldn't pay you lot to move my furniture," snapped the skull, "Now where is..." The skull hopped around to see they were in a kitchen. "Seriously?" he said bluntly before snapping angrily "SERIOUSLY? A RESTAURANT? WHAT KIND OF DARK CULT ARE YOU PEOPLE?"

"Well, it's really more of a dark club," said one of the dragons wearing glasses.

"Shut up, nerd," snapped another dragon.

Ghoulwyrm, unable to facepalm, settled for rocking his skull so his face hit the floor a few times. "Ok, now then, you said you were followers of darkness, correct?" he said in a tired tone .

"Well, basically," said one of the dragons.

"So...where's the alchemy lab? The minions? The dark spellbook? Where, in fact, IS THE SMEGGING DARK PART?" he snapped, purple flame shooting out his head .

"Uh...we got posters," said another one.

Ghoulwyrm just stared before sighing, "Ok...what can you guys do as far as destruction and mayhem goes?"

"We do a lot of vandalism," said one of them excitedly.

"That's it? Right, who are you idiots? I should probably learn your names so I can shout at you," said Ghoulwyrm angrily .

"Well, I'm Scorch," said one of the fire dragons, "The one that's tripping out on caffeine is Vipra."

"The bunnies are so pretty," said the poison dragoness absently.

"Ok, that's enough, who's your leader?" snapped Ghoulwyrm .

"Uh, we're not supposed to bring new recruits until we're certain they'd be loyal to the forces of darkness," said Scorch.

"Who...is...your...leader?" said Ghoulwyrm, with rigid self-control .

"Just a pair of guys who say they used to work for Malefor," said Vipra absently.

"What? Take me to them immediately...or I'll bite your ankles!" snapped Ghoulwyrm .

"You sure you really want to do that right now with your body like that?" asked the dorky one.

"Right, that's it. It's clear I have to pull myself together," snapped Ghoulwyrm, his body parts twitching before flowing together . The dragonlings backed up as tentacles and tendons slid out of different parts and snared other parts before pulling them together. The neck tentacles grabbed onto his skull before hauling back to its proper place.

After a minute, Ghoulwyrm stood up, twisting his head. "Urgh...I hate it when I get pulled apart," he said before turning to glare at the dragonlings. "Now...take me to your leader," he said, some inner part of him happy that he'd finally been able to use that line.

To Ghoulwyrm's belief, the restaurant wasn't all there was to the lair. There was a basement that led down to a dark chamber. Ok, it was mostly dark because they kept the lights off and the posters were basically the only 'dark' things there. But it was better than just the kitchen.

"Ok, at least it's better the upstairs was. So who are your leaders? Librarians?" Ghoulwyrm said scathingly .

"Well, er, they don't like to show themselves straight off," said Scorch.

Ghoulwyrm shrugged before casting two of his nastiest bursts into the dark, several yelps indicating he'd wiped them out. "Problem solved. I'm the boss now. Any objectors?"

"I certainly object," said a female voice, "You didn't have to do that. Ow, that's going to smart for days."

Ghoulwyrm paused at that before saying accusingly "Devina?"

"Er, you are mistaken, outsider," said the female voice, sounding deeper than before, "We are far more powerful than you think so don't think you can get away with attacking a second time."

"No, I always remember someone I worked with, even if I was alive at the time," Ghoulwyrm said happily, sending a flare up .

The illumination revealed two dragons, a shadow dragoness and an electric dragon, both of whom were wincing at the sudden increase in light. The electric dragon snarled at that. "You...betrayer...where were you when our enemies destroyed the mighty Malefor?" he snapped .

"I wasn't wanted," said Ghoulwyrm calmly, "And as I recall, I gave you two a passport off of this planet when everyone was going to hunt you down."

"Yes...and immediately we were following you around. I prefer to not be beaten up every plan," said Devina promptly, causing Ghoulwyrm to glare before hanging his head in defeat at that. "And unlike some people, we haven't forsaken our homeworld," said Devina, "There is still dark power here and we will raise it up again."

"You have seen orbit. There's a civil war in the NSC and half the rebels are coming here, including the one who helped Spyro defeat you," snapped Ghoulwyrm .

"Then it'll be easier to hunt them down and take our revenge," said the electric one fiercely.

Devina sighed. "Yes, I'm sure you'll have no trouble taking on every dragon and Atlantean in their city," she said .

"Once we have the dark power under our control-" started Raptor.

"Under _my_ control you mean," interrupted Ghoulwyrm, "Let us not forget who the leader among us is. And don't try to protest. I've seen the pitiful attempt at leadership you two have attempted." On cue, a lightning bolt hit Ghoulwyrm, making him judder. "We can always share," he rasped .

"And what good can you bring to our cult?" asked Devina.

"Well, better recruits for starter," said Ghoulwyrm, one of his eyes sliding back to give a disdainful look at the dragonlings, "I mean seriously, there's 'scraping the bottom of the barrel', and then there's 'getting what little is left in the cracks'."

Devina glared at the dragonlings who were out of hearing range before muttering, "It's more of a recruitment drive."

"Obviously. We'll have to weed out the hangers on and fad chasers," said Ghoulwyrm, "Not to mention start gathering up members for an army. Cultists can provide back-up support, but we need creatures we can rely on in a fight."

"That's what I mean by recruitment. Vipra's already insane enough. I'm just preparing the ritual for her and Scorch has a rather strong hatred of the humans," Devina explained.

"Good, but let's not forget about image," said Ghoulwyrm, "We're not going to assault this city, but we need to let them know that we are the Dark Power now and we are not a threat that can be dismissed."

"Then you have not seen the news," said Devina, yelling "SCORCH!"

"Er, the heroes that vanquished Malefor, their, uh, egg has hatched," said Scorch.

"Oh, is that all?" asked Ghoulwyrm, "I'm not surprised that thing hatched so soon. It showed quite a bit of power after I managed to put that trace in it."

"You put a trace on Cynder and Spyro's child?" said Raptor, surprised.

"Oh, it's more than just a trace," said Ghoulwyrm, "It has the potential to be a full-fledged curse. I, er, didn't get the chance to set in any details before its defenses repelled me though."

"Indeed, I thought you would have remembered that," sneered Devina .

"Most eggs just give a bright flash of fire, an electric shock, or a chilling wind," said Ghoulwyrm, "Something minor to deter predators. I didn't think this one would give off a complete feedback pulse."

"It's the egg of a purple dragon," reminded Devina calmly .

"And as such is so rare that no one has attempted threatened one before, let alone place a dark mark on it," said Ghoulwyrm, "This is untrodden territory."

"Exactly, you just got blasted out of it," snapped Raptor .

"The point remains that I marked it for a curse and it just needs to be molded," said Ghoulwyrm tersely.

"Like what?" asked Scorch .

"Well, something worth remembering of course," said Ghoulwyrm, "I'm not gonna show up and curse their little girl with something passé like sleeping death or being forced to spend all daylight hours as some ugly beast."

"You'll need alot of energy then," said Devina calmly .

"What do you think I've been keeping in this?" asked Ghoulwyrm, holding up a dark crystal.

"Hmm...might do it," said Devina peering at it .

"Where did you get all that dark energy?" asked Raptor.

"Do you recall that massive spat that Lynch and Spyro had with their dragonesses?" asked Ghoulwyrm, "I was the one that started it too."

"Well, I did hear about that," said Devina thoughtfully .

"Preferably, I would have liked them to have killed at least civilians to ruin their image in the quarrel, if not one another," said Ghoulwyrm, "But still, the amount of rage they gave off, tricked into or induced of, was plenty enough to fill this crystal to the brim."

"You'd need at least ten for any curse that would result in death or illness," said Devina calmly.

"Ten more? But this crystal is absolutely loaded," protested Ghoulwyrm.

"More than enough for a human perhaps," said Devina, "But dragons are considerably more resilient than that."

"Fair point," said Ghoulwyrm before sounding devious, "Anyways, I wasn't planning on striking her down with plague or early death. After all, there are things much, much more cruel."

"Like what?" said Devina skeptically .

"Well, lots of things," said Ghoulwyrm, "Untold suffering, losing what you hold dear. This ought to come naturally to you."

A warning hiss from Devina caused Ghoulwyrm to drop the subject with a grin, saying "Anyway, once your little...cult's at full power, you should be able to see to part of it."

"And how are you supposed to get close enough to mold your curse?" asked Raptor.

"Oh, that will be easy," said Ghoulwyrm, "I know exactly where I'll find her, I just need to get more specifics."

"Like what?" said Raptor accusingly .

"Time, defenses, who all will be attending, you can't crash a party unless you're prepared," said Ghoulwyrm before fading into invisibility.  
Devina glared. "I hate it when he does that as well. Scorch, I think it time I tested the method of 'promotion' on Vipra," she said.

In the main city, there was quite a lot of hustle and bustle going on. Now that Spyro and Cynder's egg had hatched, there was quite a bit of preparation going on for some sort of ceremony. While most of the crew were already informed by this custom, there were some who need it explained to.  
"Ok, I saw one of these during my year's stay here. It's like an early coming of age, like destroying your first city for experiments," said Matt carefully .

"Only in this case, she's gonna smash a rock?" asked Kala doubtfully.

"Exactly, one with a mana crystal in it. It'll jumpstart her magic usually so she has access to her basic element straight off," said Matt, happy that he'd gotten it correct .

"But how is she supposed to smash it without her power?" asked Kala.

"Dragons are tough," said Matt, a twitch coming to his voice as he realized he was headed back to square one rapidly .

"But she's only just a baby," said Kala.

"Technically she ages to about 2 inside the egg. I don't get it either," said Matt, shrugging .

"And she doesn't get a name until after she breaks open the rock?" asked Kala.

"I think so. I kinda fell asleep with my eyes open half way through. What's sad is I think that I think, from the reactions, is that it was expected," said Matt sadly .

Kala sighed and asked, "Is there at least a party afterwards?"

"Yes...yes there is. I remember a food coma," said Matt .

"And ye better hurry and find a date or else ye'll be left with no one to go with ye," said a voice that made both Matt and Kala look with disdain.

Mat and Kala's eyes narrowed and they turned to glare at a white-scaled dragoness grinning at them. "Sod off, Keenai," said Matt darkly .

"Is that any way to talk to yer future mate?" asked Keenai, sounding wounded but was hardly really offended.

"I already had my mandatory date with you today so kindly go drop off the edge of the world," snapped Matt .

"But yer obviously better off goin' to the wee babe's party with the prettier dragoness on yer arm. And I have that covered in both dragon..." With a flash, Keenai changed to her human form, wearing a tight top and pants, "And human form."

Kala glared at that, shifting back to human as well in a similar outfit, albeit with a side order of weaponry and combat armor. "Huh, like you're the prettiest. Tell her, bushi bu," she said, causing Matt, despite being in plasma dragon form, to start sweating .

Fortunately, an intervention came in the form of Contrinus flying over. "There you are, Matt," she said, "Sonya and Smoldron were looking for you."

"Ah, an impartial judge," said Keenai smugly, "Perhaps ye can tell us which of us is prettier. Not that I don't already know the answer."

Contrinus looked between the two of them and said, "Well, to be honest, I can't really pick one out. I mean, you two look remarkably alike."

Kala stared in horror. "That's not true," she snapped, Keenai nodding "Indeed, I'm not some harlot."

"Well, it's just that you share similarities in the shape of your bodies, your faces, and your height. Even your voices sound somewhat-"  
Keenai glared. "That's enough! I'm not staying here to be compared to that!" she snapped, pointing at Kala before transforming back to dragon form and flying off .

"Nice work, Contrinus," said Matt.

"Er, I'm not certain if I did anything," said Contrinus.

"You've done plenty," said Matt, "Now then, I need to find my old buddies and see what they want."

Kala called after Matt as he took off, "But you didn't decide!"

"It's you, of course," called Matt before he had turned a corner.

Kala smiled before frowning and saying to Contrinus, "You think he actually means it or was he just mollifying me?"

"I'm sure he wasn't just mollifying you," said Contrinus kindly .

"Better not be," grumbled Kala.

In a more empty part of the city, Keenai landed within an alley before shifting back to human form. "Note to self: dispose of that bird as soon as it is convenient," she grumbled to herself.

A voice behind her said, "That's the best idea I've heard all week."

Keenai spun around and snapped, "Who said that? Show yourself!"

"Not just yet, not till I can be sure you're not going to rumble me," said the voice smugly, from her other side now .

"I warn ye, I'm a fear dragon of most terrifying power," said Keenai.

The voice chuckled and said, "You might be able to scare everyone else with that ghost story, but we know better."

"Ye think? Coming from the one who's cowerin' in the shadows," snapped Keenai, looking around .

"If you were a true master of fear, you'd know where I am," said the voice tauntingly. Keenai gulped at that, trying to sense the soul of whatever was hiding nearby . The voice chuckled and said, "Maybe you should try to use echolocation like the oversized bat you really are."

"Bat?" snapped Keenai, turning to where the voice had last been heard, the voice managing "Uh oh." before she shrieked at it

There was a thud as the soundwaves hit something and made it slam against the wall. The voice spoke, a bit more weakly, "You have a strong voice, I admit. But that's as far as your so-called fear powers go." The second scream left an imprint in the wall that was vaguely wyvern-shaped. "Mary had a little lamb, urble burble..." managed the voice .

Keenai strode over to the spot and started feeling around. "Show yerself, ye slithering shadow!" she snapped.

She yelped as something nipped her, before the voice said dizzily "Ooooh...another Shar Virk...a banshee one."

"That's right, and a fear dragon to boot so back off!" snapped Keenai.

"Oh, that would be something to be afraid of...if that were true," said the voice, sounding a lot more cognitive.

"What?" snapped Keenai.

"You're not a real dragon. I can taste the defects in whatever made you. Taleth been experimenting again?" sneered the voice .

"Of course I'm a real dragon! I'm a real smeggin' fear dragon!" yelled Keenai.

"Yes, yes, so you've been telling me. But I've been around for millennia and I know for a fact that there ARE no fear dragons. All those dragons who claim to be fear dragons are really sound dragons who have mastered the fear aspects of their element. Although occasionally they're actually psychic dragons who have master emotional inducement. Also, I know banshees, I've met banshees, and you, my dear, are no true banshee," said the voice, a shape very slowly shimmering into her vision.

"Why you little..." began Keenai, only to choke as a hidden hand grabbed her throat .

"I, on the other hand, am a true master of fear. I can peel away all your bravado to see exactly what lies at your center. But as much fun as that would be to me, I'd like to pick up the pace a bit," said the voice before the shape surged forward and Keenai shuddered as she felt something entering her body.

Keenai gulped at that. "No...don't ye dare…" she began before the last of the nanites in her blood were sucked out and her old form came back .

The intruder soon exited her body, becoming fully visible and revealing himself to be Ghoulwyrm. He looked down at the small experiment who basically looked like a white-furred, red-eyed version of Belle. "Experiment 756, designed to directly stimulate the pleasure, pain, and fear centers of the brain using sonic harmonics. Presumed MIA by the Empire, but really taken by the Shar-Virk whose leader, Taleth, wanted something to test the serum he would eventually give to Experiment 777, AKA Kala, your little sister," said Ghoulwyrm leeringly.

Keenai snapped at that, "Hey, out me private memories! I deserve everything me sister got!"

Ghoulwyrm smirked and said, "Of course you do," before one of his bandage tendrils wrapped tightly around Keenai, restricting her so thoroughly she couldn't draw in enough breath to scream. He lifted her up to his face and grinned widely, showing his rows of sharp fangs. Keenai whimpered as the fangs got close before he stopped, laughing.

"In one part you are right: you are fear...you're very afraid," he laughed , "Now then, I'm not going to kill you, nor am I going to reveal your secret to everybody. You are of far more use to me as an instrument of fear. Do not cling too tightly to Taleth, his time is starting to draw into a close. Follow my lead and you shall eventually rise to be queen of the Shar-Virk. Betray me and I shall show you more fear than your mind can take. Do we have an understanding?"

Keenai nodded weakly before Ghoulwyrm released her. "Your nanites shall replenish in an hour, more than enough time for you to get ready for the party," said Ghoulwyrm, "Speaking of which, I want you to tell me everything you know about it."

Ghoulwyrm felt alot more cheerful once he got back to the lair, having gotten an inside man so to speak. Sadly this went away when he saw his usual minions/pains in the posteriors had arrived.

Mecha Red was rather dissatisfied by the current status of the so-called 'dark cult', not to mention the tension between him and Malefor's former generals. Omnirus was rather indifferent to the whole affair, being chiefly of the mind that this was all a waste of her time.

Omnirus looked up from her constant tinkering with a genetic resequencer. "Ok...what's the plan that's going to fail?" she said bluntly .

Ghoulwyrm grinned and said, "We're going to do a christening curse."

"A what?" asked Red.

"We're, namely I, going to crash the rock-opening ceremony of Spyro and Cynder's little hatchling and place a nasty curse on her," said Ghoulwyrm.

"That's good. We could use another vacation while you reconstitute," laughed Omnirus .

"I already have the stage set," said Ghoulwyrm, "The brat has been marked for a curse, I know exactly where and when the party is and who'll be there, and I have enough power to place a powerful, irremovable curse on her. All we need is an idea of what kind of curse to mold and a flashy enough entrance and exit."

Omnirus rolled her eyes. "Great...more grunt work," she muttered, only for Ghoulwyrm to say "Oh no...we have grunts to do that now."

"Yes, your collection of wannabes," said Red, dryly, "That is what the young call them nowadays, right?"

"I think 'losers' and 'rejects' is more appropriate," said Omnirus.

"Shut up! Tonight we strike in force and show that brat merc that nowhere is sacred!" snapped Ghoulwyrm

"And have you any idea what your dreadful curse is going to be?" asked Red.

"Well, I've had some preliminary ideas, but you two are going to help me brainstorm it more thoroughly."

"So you can steal our ideas?" said Omnirus, not looking up .

"I doubt I'll need to take your ideas," said Ghoulwyrm, "I've laid several brilliant curses in my time. I just need to make sure it sounds epic enough to truly be legendary."

Omnirus laughed at that. "Oh sorry, I was just remembering your last brilliant curse," she managed .

Ghoulwyrm glared at her and said, "It was a good curse. I hadn't expected her to use two different magics, which shouldn't even be mixed, to alter it."

"So you're gonna mix dark wyvern magic with Avalarian magic?" said Omnirus, hoping that, for once, the voice of reason would pop up .

Ghoulwyrm snorted and said, "Shows how much you know about magic. This is local dark magic, with dark energy derived from local Avalarians. The only thing that might clash is her light nature against the dark nature of this magic and I think I can already use that to my advantage."

"Yes cause that usually ends so well," Said Omnirus sarcastically .

"What would you know?" retorted Ghoulwyrm, "If you had any proper idea how opposing facets are to be meshed together, you wouldn't be so gender-confused right now."

"Then why not just put a bad luck curse on her? Given she'll be near the Lynches, that'll be better than a death curse," snapped Omnirus .

"Too easy to counter or remove," said Ghoulwyrm, "Besides, the Lynches aren't always gonna be here and that's hardly what I would call an epic curse."

"Really? You do know the Lynches track record, right?" Omnirus said .

Ghoulwyrm rolled his eyes and said, "Everyone knows their track record, but they're gonna be on different planets most of the time. This curse is centered on the hatchling and it's got to be active all the time."

Red sighed, before asking the inevitable. "Ok...let us hear your 'brilliant' plan," he said, sarcasm dripping on each word .

Ghoulwyrm cleared his throat and said in a loud dramatic voice, "Before the final day of her sixteenth month has passed, her hide shall be pierced by a black stone and she herself shall become a dark crystal of great power. And through her and by her shall come an age of tyranny more cruel than any that has been known before. And her only escape from this is not by a lover, but by a traitor. A traitor who has lost the faith of all and is loved by none, including themselves. Only such a wretched creature can be her salvation and she theirs."

Red looked confused at that, "Really? All that? I can see a dozen or so loopholes to break this curse in an hour."

"Yeah, why put an escape clause at all?" asked Omnirus.

"Because curses that don't have an escape clause are easier to break with brute force or overpowering magic," said Ghoulwyrm, "Making the escape clause as impossible as possible keeps it airtight."

Red said, "You'd need less a dark crystal and more a dark planet for a curse like that anyway. Not even I could manage a spell like that."

"Well, on some worlds it would have worked, particularly if this was a human child," said Ghoulwyrm, "Anyways, it was only a first draft."

"You'll have to cut alot of corners..." said Omnirus, grabbing the notes that Ghoulwyrm had read from, tearing off a few pieces and crossing out other lines before finally just setting fire to it and starting to write something else on a new piece of paper .

"Oh, and I assume you're some kind of evil magic calculator, if such a thing exists," said Ghoulwyrm dismissively.

Omnirus looked up. "She's half purple dragon, right? The breed very susceptible to falling to the dark side?" she said calmly .

"Also half shadow dragon, the kind most associated with the dark side," said Ghoulwyrm, "Though at this point, she seems to take more after her father in terms of power."

"Even better, why not just alter the curse so that she falls to the dark side at some point? Far less power needed," said Omnirus, holding up the paper that said in capitals 'JUST CORRUPT HER, YOU UNDEAD, EGOTISTICAL MORON!'

"Where's the poetry in that?" asked Ghoulwyrm, "Besides, turning to the dark side is a personal choice, not a completely guided one. I don't have the time or opportunity to play Palpatine to her Anakin. There are few corruption magics that can latch onto someone so young, pure, and innocent and a good portion of those can be disarmed and deflected before they can take root."

"You got a better idea? Your other curse would take hours to do properly. More than enough time for the mercs or the spiderbots to turn you inside out," said Omnirus .

"Look, it's a basic traditional plan: crash the brat's party, complain about not receiving a curse, curse the brat, leave in a dramatic fashion. It's such a well-trod path that it'll make it easier to lay the curse. And unless you have a simpler means of corrupting her that will stick, I'm not seeing how you're contributing to this conversation," snapped Ghoulwyrm.

"Page 41 of your spellbook," said Omnirus promptly, causing Ghoulwyrm to pause, summoning the book and flipping to the page before glaring at Omnirus.

The page in question was regarding a curse that basically acts as a slow corruption spell. It was not particularly active, mainly giving the victim nightmares that subtly weakens their will and makes them more susceptible to evil guidance. "That would work, if the victim was older and lost their innocence. This is a hatchling, pure and untainted by the world. It needs some darkness to take root in."

Omnirus shrugged "What about the Soul Shade you have in your room? The one you call Mr. Fang?" she said, with an evil smirk, everyone turning to look at Ghoulwyrm .

"If you knew what you were talking about, you'd know that Mr. Fang is a completely different creature," said Ghoulwyrm, "Besides, a Soul Shade can be exorcised easily...unless...I tune the curse to act like a dark lodestone, something that'll keep drawing in darkness to corrupt her soul, which will eventually include a Soul Shade. Of course, it's brilliant, as my ideas often are."

"Hey, that was my idea!" snapped Omnirus angrily .

"That's one of the perks to being an evil mastermind; taking the minions' ideas for your own," said Ghoulwyrm shamelessly, "Isn't that right, Scorch?"

"I think that was number 8 in that guidebook you had me read," said Scorch.

"Good lad, you'll be moving up in this organization," said Ghoulwyrm.

Omnirus glared before blasting Ghoulwyrm through a wall. "Lesson 9...choose your moments...this was not one of them," rasped Ghoulwyrm, as Omnirus said icily "I'd like to request some time off...any problems?"

"No, not at all, it's about time of the month for you anyways," said Ghoulwyrm a bit disjointedly.

"What?" asked Omnirus darkly.

"I'm part werewolf, I have a good internal clock when it comes to the lunar cycles. Not to mention the obvious signs, the cramping, the aching, the shortness of temper..."

"HOW DARE YOU?" screamed Omnirus, grabbing Ghoulwyrm and slamming him into the ground with each word of "I AM NOT SHORT TEMPERED!"

"The resemblance to Chloe could hardly be more similar," muttered Red.

"SILENCE!" snapped Omnirus, causing everyone to jump.

"Damn, she's got good hearing," muttered Scorch .

Omnirus then threw Ghoulwyrm aside and snapped, "I'm going now whether anyone wants me to or not! Anyone who tries to stop will get a lot worse than what he got!" With that, she stomped out of the room, making sure to stomp on Ghoulwyrm on the way out, particularly in a place that was still vulnerable even for the undead.

After a minute, Ghoulwyrm got up unsteadily and said in a squeaky voice "And that's why you..." before stopping, coughing a few times and continuing more normally "And that's why we read my manual...any questions?" he said, looking at the shuddering Vipra and Scorch .

"Yes, how are you going to keep yourself from being blown up before you can put the curse on the child?" asked Red.

"Oh, that's easy," said Ghoulwyrm, "As long as the curse still unmolded, it can be twisted into whatever I want with but a thought. And that can easily be a death curse if they were to attack me. Though if my entrance is done right, they'll be too stunned to attack before I can make that threat known. Isn't that right, converts?"

"But everyone just told you that the death curse won't wor-" began Vipra in a rare moment of normality before red said, "Shh...when he's like this, it's more fun to watch and wait for him to mess up."

"Besides, those do-gooder dragons won't dare risk his bluff," muttered Scorch.

"Take it from me, Ghoulwyrm might get the curse in place but all he'll earn is a world of agonizing pain," said Red wisely .

"That's what the dramatic exit is for," said Ghoulwyrm sharply.

"By 'dramatic', you mean 'being blasted out the roof at high speed?" said Red with a smirk, causing Ghoulwyrm to sulkily say "Jerks."

"Are we sure this guy has what it takes to lead this cult?" muttered Scorch softly.

"I'm not listening, you're saying anything important, I'm listening," said Ghoulwyrm in a rather childish way.

"I ask that same thing every time we hold a planning session," said Red gloomily .

Meanwhile, Matt was catching up with his old friends Sonya and Smoldron. "So, I bet your kid has been keeping you busy," said Matt.

"Er, not quite yet," said Sonya, "The egg hasn't hatched yet."

"What? How comes?" asked Matt, "Ember and Flame's egg hatched two months ago...of course I'm not certain if local time is totally synced to Nullspace time."  
On cue he noticed the looks on Sonya and Smoldron's faces become that of barely contained laughter at the same time Matt felt something wet dripping from his horn. "He's on my horn again. Isn't he?" he said bluntly before yelling "SECURITY!" Unfortunately, this has happened enough times that the guards have learned to tune out Matt, especially since half the time it's about him complaining about Keenai.

Matt sighed as nobody came before absently concentrating and the kid floating down, encased in a plasma field. "Huh, I didn't know you could do that," said Sonya.

Matt however was glaring at the dragonling who saw this as just hilarious. "For the last time, I AM NOT CANDY!" Matt snapped, the kids 'reply' being a fireball burp that...probably wasn't intentional.

"But your horns are so tasty," said the dragonling.

"I'll be the judge of that," said a familiar voice before Matt felt someone licking over and around his horns. "Nah, I'm not getting it. Must be a dragon thing."

"MORPH!" snapped Matt, blasting the annoying experiment into the rift

"Can I go for a ride too?" asked the dragonling.

"Don't tempt me," grumbled Matt.

"Ferno, sweetie, shouldn't you be getting back to your parents?" asked Sonya kindly.

Ferno tilted his head before the natural short attention span of all kids everywhere kicked in and he said, "I can burp fire now."

Yes, obviously," said Matt dryly.

"Bye," said Ferno happily, running out the door.

"That kid's weird," said Matt faintly, causing the others to pause. "What?" asked Matt defensively.

"Well, to be frank, I wouldn't be surprised if your genetic output would up being rather..." Sonya pretty quickly realized her faux pas when Matt gave her a dark look.

Fortunately Smoldron was able to steer the topic away, "So, you think you're ready to be a godfather when the egg hatches?"

"I'm not having insanity fits anymore so yes...I suppose," said Matt, twitching a bit at that , "So why hasn't your egg hatched yet? It was laid before Spyro and Cynder's and well before Ferno's."

"Well, Ember and Flame are both fire dragons so it didn't take too long for the dragonet inside to settle," said Smoldron, "Spyro and Cynder are of a similar enough nature for their egg to figure out which power it was, and it seemed to have quite a lot. But I'm a fire dragon and Sonya's an ice dragon. Our elements are complete opposites of each other, not that there isn't anything wrong with that."

"Plus I used to be human," reminded Sonya .

I suppose that would make the genetics a bit more complicated," said Matt, "Er, it's still healthy, right?"

"Yes, it's always being taken care of," said Smoldron, "It's just that we're not entirely sure what will come out of it."

"There are some people who think it'll be born half-human," said Sonya before lowering her voice and adding, "Of course, most people are saying it'll have two heads."

"Well, some people are gits who should be pushed off the edge of the island," said Matt icily .

"I know we shouldn't listen to them, but I can't help but worry what our child will be like," said Sonya.

"We'll love it no matter what it'll be," said Smoldron comfortingly.

"And if anyone starts trouble, I'll mail them some spiderbots," said Matt .

"I keep trying to find some record of mixed parentage, but it appears that mixed matings barely involve opposite elements," said Sonya.

Matt shrugged. "It'll be fine, stop worrying," he said cheerfully.

Meanwhile, Keenai had gotten her nanites running again and was back in her human form. But still she was worried. Ghoulwyrm didn't look like the trustworthy type. Heck, his image practically screamed 'evil'. Perhaps it was time to reconsider her place in the universe a bit.

"Ok...on one hand, coming clean may result in Ghoulwyrm not murdering me. On the other hand, Matt n co may shoot me instead," she said to herself

"Then again, I hear they often take in evil experiments, teach them right from wrong, and help them find the one place where they belong," said Keenai, "Maybe I can get Matt to love me if I was on his side."

She paused at that before making a retching noise. "Urgh...good guy stuff, almost threw up," she muttered .

"Ok, here's the plan: go along with the fossil's plan and then try to make yourself as indispensable as possible," she said before adding, "Without completely degrading myself of course."

Meanwhile, Ghoulwyrm was overseeing his escape plan. He was going to be blessed if he was gonna come back as a jigsaw puzzle again.

"Have you gotten the special effects aligned?" demanded Ghoulwyrm, looking over his acolytes' work.

"Special effects? It's an attack, not a Michael Bay film," snapped Omnirus, who was packing her gear up to leave .

"Making a dramatic entrance is important," said Ghoulwyrm, "They'd probably not pay any attention to me otherwise."

"Maybe that's why you keep losing?" said Red sagely, "You might have better luck if they DON'T SEE YOU?"

"You two have no sense of tradition," said Ghoulwyrm, "The jilted dark fairy, er, I mean, sorcerer always arrives and leaves with a dramatic flourish. It's one of those things that separate us from the party crashers who weren't invited just because they were rude and come in just to spit on the kid. Besides, if they're to recognize me as the new Dark Master, they need to know what I'm capable of."

Omnirus, Red and Devina stared for a minute before laughing hysterically, causing Ghoulwyrm to say gloomily "Oh, the moral support is overwhelming." He turned to Raptor and said, "You believe I can be the new Dark Master, don't you?"

"Would you like the truth?" said Raptor, causing Ghoulwyrm to glare.

"Hmph, if you think any of you can do better, why don't you go set that curse on the child and we'll all watch as you fumble it up," snapped Ghoulwyrm.

Red shrugged, "Spell on page 49 of volume 2..." he began Ghoulwyrm snapping "I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!"

"Nevertheless, I think I'm more than qualified to lay that beacon of darkness curse on her," said Mecha Red.

"You? Make her an irresistible magnet for darkness? You couldn't make her attract flies," mocked Ghoulwyrm.

"Let's take a count. Who here has corrupted a purple dragon successfully?" said Red, raising his claw, causing Ghoulwyrm to glare even harder .

"You corrupt Malefor? I'd be hard-pressed to say you knew what you were doing or you wouldn't have ended up in that crystal prison for all those years. Not to mention your lackluster attempt at corrupting a simple fire dragon before your body was destroyed by your own magic," snapped Ghoulwyrm.

"Better track record then you," said Red calmly and smugly, adding "Weren't you killed by being thrown into a blast furnace?"

"That was due to a time-travelling Lynch," said Ghoulwyrm, "That man seems to defy time and space just to lodge another thorn into my side."

"Indeed...and he's going to be there," reminded Red.

Ghoulwyrm paused at this and said, "Yes, that is going to be a problem. He'll be too trigger-happy to even let me threaten to make my curse kill that hatchling."

"But it can't kill her," pointed out Devina.

"I know that, but he wouldn't know that until I've finished except he wouldn't let me start," said Ghoulwyrm, "I guess I'll have to prepare an immobilization spell as well. I always did want a captive audience."

"Do you remember the last time you tried a spell like that? Those spells are designed for those of a sane disposition," said Red, causing Ghoulwyrm to shiver at the memory.

It had been a simple enough spell. Ghoulwyrm couldn't think of why it backfired so spectacularly. Though it was a bit hard to think when he was being forced to slap himself repeatedly. Upon the fifth whack from his own spellbook, he finally noticed the warning footnote that said 'Danger: make sure that your target has not got any psychological problems, especially not split personality syndrome'.

"On second thought, maybe an entourage to show what I command wouldn't be a bad idea," said Ghoulwyrm.

"Finally, some common sense," muttered Red

"Naturally I can only bring those who best represent my image," said Ghoulwyrm, "Omnirus, I'm afraid you don't quite fit in."

"Up yours, like I wanted to come anyways," snapped Omnirus before stomping out again.  
Mecha Red frowned, "Hmm...I wonder if Miss Lynch is having similar mood swings?" before Vipra said "IWANNAHELP! PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE!"

Ghoulwyrm and Mecha Red exchanged looks before Ghoulwyrm said, "I admire your enthusiasm, but I don't think your power is up to the necessary level."

Devina smirked at that, "Vipra, dear. Show our wonderful leader your new party trick." she said.

"Yay!" squealed Vipra before her body became surrounded by acid-colored flames. When the flames faded, her form had surged up to that of an adult dragoness. "Look at me, I'm big now! Isn't that great?" she said before grabbing Ghoulwyrm in a big hug.

Devina yelped, trying to get Vipra to let go before there was a snapping noise and Ghoulwyrm said in a weak voice, "Ok...let's take 5 for me to go over the plans one last time and definitely NOT be taking that time to heal my now-pulverized spine."

"Er, should I demonstrate my general form?" asked Scorch.

"I'd wait till later," said Mecha Red.

Spyro and Cynder's daughter looked up at her parents. "Why can't I just choose a name anyway? You two didn't have to do it," she asked .

"Well, we were hatched under...unusual circumstances," said Spyro.

"We didn't even have the chance to have our rock-opening ceremony," said Cynder.

"Oh...is that Zara lady pushing for it? The one auntie Sonya calls the bi-" Cynder saying quickly "Yes, that's her."

"It's not going to be so bad," said Spyro, "You'll get a boost of power for it."

"Cool," said their hatchling happily before Matt came in, shutting the door as fast as he could, blasting the lock and leaning against it. "Yay, Matt's back!" said the hatchling happily.

"Hey kid...I'm playing the 'hiding from the stalker' game," said Matt, with a desperate grin

"Again? I thought you already had your daily date with her," said Cynder.

"Yeah, but now she wants to be my arm candy for your party," said Matt.

"It's not a party as such. I'm still not sure you understand it..." said Spyro carefully before everyone winced as Keenai's voice grated outside. "Hey...me darlin'. Ye in there?"

Matt quickly jumped into a nearby closet before poking his head and said, "Remember, you never saw me."

Keenai opened the door at that, looking around. "I know he's here..." she said cheerfully .

Spyro gave Keenai an annoyed look and asked, "Has it ever occurred to you that your constant attempts to see him is making him less fond of you?"

Keenai looked confused at that, as if the very concept was alien. "Less fond?" she said confused before shaking her head as her brain rejected reality and substituted her own.

Cynder just tsked and said, "Well, you're not going to find him in here. You know there are plenty of other dragons to pick from."

Matt poked his head of the closet. "Is she gone?" he asked .

"Oh, there ye are!" said Keenai excitedly. Matt just screamed and slammed the door. The sound of hammering nails and electric screwdrivers was heard soon after that.

Cynder and Spyro sighed as their hatchling said "Is my godfather always this insane?"

"I'm the godfather?" asked Matt's voice from within the closet.

"We were gonna ask you and Kala after the ceremony," said Spyro, "I offered it to Chloe but she didn't seem to be in a good mood for some reason."

Keenai from outside snapped "Hey, I'm his bus...his mate to be. I should be godmother."

"Er, I'm not so sure you'd be a good guardian for our child," said Cynder.

"WHAT?" snapped Keenai, causing the hatchling to cringe . "I can be a great mother figure, at least I would if a certain father figure would just-" Keenai's protest when a bolt of lightning nearly hit her.

"WILL YOU SMEGGING SHUT UP?!" yelled Chloe as she stomped into the room, "I cannot take another second of your unbearable voice!"

Keenai glared at that. "That's good comin' from the ex-imperial lackie," she snapped.

Chloe didn't even bother with a retort, she just grabbed Keenai by her long white hair and started swinging her around like an Olympic hammer, Keenai screaming with pain at the same time. Eventually, Chloe sent her hurling out a window where Keenai was apparently in too much shock to change form judging from the crash outside. "ANYONE ELSE WANT TO MAKE ANY SMEGGING NOISE?!" yelled Chloe.

Everyone shook their heads except for the hatchling who cheered .

"Good, now don't disturb me until the stupid ceremony's starting!" snapped Chloe before stomping out again.

After a minute, Matt's voice came from the closet, "Is it safe to come out yet?"

The ceremony was a little hard, given it was traditionally done at the Warfang temple...meaning the Atlanteans had been forced to hook up alot of power for a hard light simulation. There were also more than a little grumbling from the more traditional dragons, which fortunately weren't that many.

Morgan and his fellow Atlanteans were the most annoyed though. "Elder Zara, you do realize that we still haven't got city security operational. This is a security nightmare," he said, walking alongside her.

"As if anyone would dare to attack here, where the strongest warriors of Avalar are gathered," said Zara.

"The same could be said of Warfang," said Morgan carefully .

"Malefor's power has ended, there are no real threats left," said Zara.

"Two generals still not accounted for and these leaflets turning up over and over," said Morgan, looking at a leaflet talking about the new dark cult of Malefor.

Zara gave the leaflet a disbelieving look and said, "You honestly think that a true dark cult would stoop as low as that? I've heard of those interested in that little club. They're only young dragon who are complaining for the sake of complaining."

"They're following somebody," said Morgan darkly .

"As if there were any one of dark enough power to make something threatening out of them," said Zara.

"Ghoulwyrm has been seen here," said Morgan grimly.

Zara snorted and said, "That wrapped-up pile of bones? Even Lynch considers him a bad joke."

"Never underestimate anyone with dark powers. Do you forget Red? Your history says he caused quite a stir," said Morgan casually, causing Zara to glare.

"If you knew enough about our history, you would know that his true name isn't really 'Red', let alone that he is not the type of history that is brought up in polite company," growled Zara.

"Oh yes...you're related to him. Now then, I _will_ be assigning a cadre of my men to security," said Morgan in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Fine, but they're to keep out of sight," snapped Zara, "Never forget that you're all only guests. You may have settled a small portion of It, but this is still our world."

"And this is our city that your people are staying in as a matter of charity from the council," said Morgan coldly, before walking off.

Not long after that, Matt joined Morgan on his walk. "I'm guessing Zara's getting to be more of a problem than before," he said.

Morgan sighed. "It seems that I struck a family nerve. She could be trouble. Do you still have those robot spiders aboard?" he asked ,

"How could I get rid of them?" asked Matt rhetorically.

"No idea, the only reason they're not still here is because I think they got bored and left. There should have been a ship still in dock," said Morgan, proving that sarcasm was a modern invention.

Matt got a bit worried at that, his mind filling up with images of those maniacal spiderbots without anyone to control them. Admittedly, there wasn't much he could to control them, but they could at least accept bribes.

Morgan recognized the look. "I'm sure they won't destroy anything important," he said kindly as they approached where the ceremony would be, Morgan frowning as he spotted some of Zara's own dragon guards.

Already, Matt could see one of them escorting an unwanted partygoer out, though in this case, it might be justified. "Aw, c'mon, can I at least have some of the cake?" whined Morph as he was being carried out. The experiment immediately spotted Matt. "See? I'm with that guy," he said desperately.

"Eh, I don't know, Morph," said Matt, "Remember the last time you went to a rock-opening ceremony?"

Morph held the infant dragon high above his head on the edge of a tall stone ledge. For some odd reason, there was a particularly bright beam of sunlight shining upon them. Then the little dragon gave a wiggle and suddenly slipped out of Morph's hands and over the ledge he was standing on. Morph looked down after the dragonling and said, "Oops."

"I swear I heard that's a custom somewhere," protested Morph.

"Look, you're banned," snapped Matt, before whispering to Morph, "Chip hides the coconut cake under his recharge station."

Morph decided to stop protesting as the dragon guard escorted him out. Another dragon guard turned to Matt and Morgan and said, "I'm afraid that the 'dragons only' rule applies to you as well."

Matt and Morgan exchanged looks before Matt said, "Ok," and they both shifted into their respective dragon forms.

The guard's eyes narrowed before stepping aside for Morgan, saying to Matt, "You sure you were invited?"

"Yes, me and my mate personally invited him," said an ice voice making the guard jump and turn to Cynder.

"Er, sorry, ma'am, I was just making sure," said the guard.

"I'm sure," said Cynder coldly, stepping aside to let Morgan and Matt in .

The three dragons walked in and Matt said, "I know I can be a bit of a handful, but I'm not that undesirable, am I?"

Suddenly, there was a loud crack and a dragon howled with pain. Chloe's voice snapped, "Next time, keep your paw to yourself!"

"Well, you do give cause to worry," said Cynder.

"I know for a fact that news like Chloe should have gotten around," said Matt as a dragon limped by, before saying "Will you sign for this? I only tapped her on the shoulder."

Matt signed the form as Morgan said, "Is it me or Chloe edgier than usual today?"

"I haven't noticed," said Matt casually .

"I thought she was just jealous for not having a mate, but she's making it very clear that she doesn't want a mate," said Cynder.

"Maybe she's already found someone," said Matt .

Morgan raised an eye ridge. "Care to elaborate?" he asked.

"Sorry, sir, but I don't think our friendship is quite close enough to be talking on such a personal level," said Matt, "Not to mention Chloe has almost a seventh sense for knowing when people are gossiping about her and she usually moves in to silence."

Morgan smiled. "Oh please, that's just redi-" he began before a lightning bolt earthed itself on his horns. "Ok, point made," he said glumly .

"So what's her sixth sense?" asked Cynder.

"Uh...I forget. Maybe it has something to do with electricity or something," said Matt, "I don't really care."

On cue, Cynder's kid rushed in. "Matt, you came, Zara said you had to cancel due to being something called a dou-" she said before Matt said "It's ok, she was mistaken..." rather quickly

"So, are you ready for your big day, sweetie?" asked Cynder.

"I'm ready to have an actual name," said her daughter.

"Atta girl," said Matt happily before looking around, "Where's Spyro?" he asked.

The trio soon spotted him talking with Zara. Well, Zara was doing most of the talking, Spyro was mainly rolling his eyes and attempting to not look bored.

Matt winked at Cynder before walking up behind Zara and saying loudly "WHATCHA DOING?" causing Zara to shriek .

Once Zara had recovered, she turned and glared at Matt. "Can you at least make some attempt at appearing civil?" she snapped.

"Me? Uncivilized? Perish the thought," said Matt before letting out a loud belch, "Sorry, had quite a few onion rings and chili fries for lunch."

Zara glared at that, "Your manners...urgh, just what I'd expe-" she said before going crosseyed as a faint green cluld engulfed her hand and she faceplanted into the ground .

"Really? My breath is that bad?" asked Matt.

"You have to admit, we dragons don't normally have the freshest breath," said Spyro, "And when we eat things with particular odor..." He looked pointed at a vase of flowers that had wilted within the last minute.

"Damn..." muttered Matt before Zara said weakly in her sleep happily "Yes, please throw away the key...that human is never allowed out again." with a goofy grin.

"I haven't got the heart to wake her up," said Matt honestly, the group walking off, a spiderbot poking its optic out a wall hole, scuttling up and letting loose an airhorn in Zara's ear.

The other dragons ignored Zara's cursing. "So what was Zara yapping about again?" asked Matt.

"Oh, same old, more limitations on the amount of visitors. She's been getting more paranoid ever since the refugee ships started arriving," said Spyro.

"Indeed..." said Matt, watching as Zara ran out the room with the spiderbot clamped to her head .

"Why is she so set against other races?" asked Cynder.

"Let me guess, she's also the main voice behind the segregation of the wyverns," said Matt darkly.

"Yeah," said Spyro glaring at her, adding, "But she's also a guardian..."

"How did she get that position in the first place?" asked Matt.

"Through quite a lot of effort on her part and facing a lot of obstacles," said a voice as everyone turned to see Terrador.

"Terrador, sir," said Matt, remembering to bow.

Morgan, Spyro, and Cynder were rather shocked by that. "Matt, you bowed and called him 'sir'?" asked Spyro disbelievingly.

"You've never respected anyone with authority," said Cynder.

"Not even me," said Morgan a little sourly.

"Who do you think set me up with that house in Warfang after I got stranded without a penny to my name? NSC creds were kinda worthless," said Matt .

"He was an important part of defeating Malefor the first two times, it was the least we could do," said Terrador, "Zara wasn't helpful regarding that, but then, the life she's lived has taught her how to keep her heart closed."

"I always have wondered, but never wanted to test how fireproof I was. What is her deal?" said Matt .

"Well, her childhood wasn't as easy as yours probably was," said Terrador, "Her family was poor and shunned by most of the other dragon clans. That's what happens when one of the older roots of your family tree was rotten."

"Oh? Wait, it wasn't a certain dragon spirit that got in my head the first visit round?" said Matt, carefully

better .

"Actually, no," said Terrador, "It was actually a certain former councilmember who had a rather negative influence."

"Oh no," said Cynder, cottoning on.

"Yes, she set herself very hard on rising out from the pit his legacy had left," said Terrador, "In most cases beforehand, she's typically fair. But her life had given her a lesson that's very firmly ingrained: the stranger someone is, the less you can trust them."

"Oh joy," said Matt darkly .

"And with the recent influx of newcomers, it's making her more paranoid than usual," said Terrador. "And we have no therapists on this planet...or any planet," said Matt dryly.

"Agreed, I am considering sending her to the Shar monastery for relaxation," said Terrador sadly .

"You sure that's the best place for her?" asked Matt. "Well, it's not like we've claimed some tropical island getaway," said Spyro.

Matt hung his head at that. "One day..." he said sadly

"Can I open that rock already?" asked Spyro's kid.

"Well...Zara is indisposed..." said Terrador, wincing at an electrical noise from outside before saying "I think we can begin."

"Finally, first I open my rock then I open my presents," said the hatchling.

Matt gulped at that, Morgan spotting it and whispering "Don't worry, we already found yours. It's the ticking one."

"Good, I know alarm clocks aren't the best gifts, but there are no toy stores here," said Matt. There was a sudden air of relief, causing Matt to glare. "Lovely," he said darkly

"I wanna open my rock!" yelled Spyro's hatchling.

"Never thought I'd here a kid say that," said Matt.

Meanwhile, Chris and the others were outside, with very specific orders to shoot Keenai repeatedly if she came in. Oddly enough, she hasn't turned up yet. So the gang was playing a game with Morgan's guards, some kind of game that used to be popular in Atlantis.

Sadly they were shit at it. "Ok, that's another 300 vareks for me," said the guard they were playing, causing Chris to glare and say "Are you sure you aren't changing the rules every round?

"Nonsense, you're just not keeping up with them," said the guard.

Draco grinned at that before looking at his notes. "You now owe them everything," he laughed before stopping and juddering, his horns glowing.

"What? That can't possibly be right," snapped Chris, "I knew we should have let the calculator keep notes."

"Oh, is that how you see me?" asked Chip sourly.

"Guys..." began Draco, pointing up the street to a cloud of smoke flowing towards them .

The others didn't notice his warning right away. "Do we have to have this discussion again?" asked Chris.

"Well, since you keep referring to me as just a tool, then yes," snapped Chip.

"GUYS!" yelled Draco at that, causing everyone to turn just in time for a spike to shoot out and hit one of the guards.

"Oh, that's a problem," said Chris.

On cue, several blasts shot out, forcing the gang to scatter. "Ok, we can take on a cloud, right?" asked Draco. There were several flashes within that cloud and suddenly several monsters that looked like they came from the dark closets of really disturbed kids charged out of the cloud at them.

Matt yawned as Zara continued with the ceremony . Zara seemed mostly concerned about reciting history of great dragons that have come before, apparently to lead up to Spyro and Cynder, though since everyone knew they were orphans, it all seemed pretty pointless.

"Must resist...urge...to heckle…" he said to himself, Cynder hissing "Don't you dare."

But Zara seemed to be getting to the end of her speech. "If the great heroes of our past could see our world now, they would be...impressed with how Spyro and Cynder have protected this world and they would have great expectations for their hatchling as do we all. And now the time has come for this hatchling to receive her first taste of the wisdom of dragons and learn her true power."

Cynder and Spyro looked over at Matt who was shaking from biting his own tongue. "Oh all right," said Cynder with a sigh, Matt breathing out.

"Well here's a bit of wisdom first: if you're gonna make a long speech, make sure it's one that relevant!" called Matt.

Everyone paused at that before Zara just gave an annoyed sniff. "Now that's out the way, let us proceed," she said, yelping. Matt stifled part of a snigger. He could clearly see who was making Zara yelp. He was only wondering why the spiderbot hadn't made her speed up her speech. The spiderbot, sitting between Zara's head horns chuckled before tazering Zara, making her yelp and snap, "Let's just get this over with so I can get a psychic clan dragon to tear this thing off."

The hatchling quickly ran over to the large rock. The earth dragons who dug it up were very certain that this rock was filled with crystals for dragons to absorb and only needed to be cracked open.

Matt, despite everything closed his eyes, common sense saying that pain was on the horizon before a crack and a thud got his attention

The rock was broken neatly in half, reveal red, green, and blue crystals inside shimmering. The hatchling put a paw on each of the two halves and the crystals shifted into color light which flowed into the young dragon. "The young one has drank of the strength, magic, and wisdom of her world," proclaimed Zara, "What shall be her name?"

"Her name shall be Lumina," said Spyro proudly.

"Lumina?" asked the newly-christened hatchling.

"Mina for short," said Cynder kindly.

"Oh, I like that," she said, "Mina, that's what I'm gonna be called now, Mina."

"Cute name," said Matt before saying to Zara, a little annoyed, "Can I turn my comm back on now?"

"You may-" started Zara when suddenly the door was thrown open by a howling wind. The previously clear and sunny sky was replaced by an overcast one that was rumbled loudly with thunder and flashed with lightning. Something like green gas that moved like fire spread itself across the floor and every dragon it passed over soon found themselves almost stiff in place. Every torch and candle was blown out and the glow of the crystals was dimmed. The dragons stood in stunned darkness before a purple vapor rose up from the floor and collected into a cloud that parted to reveal Ghoulwyrm floating there, grinning as macabrely as possible.

Ghoulwyrm laughed insanely as he came in "Behold...the darkness has-" he began before a plasma blast knocked his head off. "OH COME ON!" he snapped as Red picked up his head with a chuckle.

"Ha, you chose the wrong party to crash," called Matt. Ghoulwyrm glared at Matt before snapping his fingers, causing a large tarantula to appear in front of Matt. "Ooh, a big spider, should I be scared? You've picked the wrong dragon to spook-" started Matt before his taunting was brought short by the arachnid being sent into Matt's mouth.

Zara however seemed to be gibbering as Mecha Red walked towards her. "Well...it seems council membership runs in the bloodline," he said, smirking at her as Ghoulwyrm tried to reattach his head.

Zara's eyes weren't directly on Red, rather the spiderbots that were clambering onto his back. "Um, I need to tell you something," said Zara.

"Oh? So do I: quit your position and return to whatever hole you came out of. Your guardians won't have any power soon and it'd better for you to return to whatever anonymity your clan has," said Mecha Red, clearly not caring for his modern relatives one little bit.

Zara glared before saying with an evil grin "Never mind." as the spiderbot crawled through a hole between two armor plates .

By then, Ghoulwyrm had reattached his head and said, "Now where was I? Ah, yes." He glided over to Spyro and Cynder, "Quite a festive occasion you're hosting. You must have invited every important dragon on Avalar. No, wait, I'm mistaken. I don't believe neither or my followers have received invitations. Could care to explain why that is?"

"Because you're an incompetent wannabe villain," said Chloe.

Without looking, Ghoulwyrm conjured another tarantula, which Chloe received with a lot more squeamishness than Matt. "I wanted their answer," said Ghoulwyrm, his gaze fixed on Spyro and Cynder.

Spyro wasn't going to waste time by not being frank. "You're not welcome here," he said sternly.

Ghoulwyrm raised an eye ridge and chuckled a little. "Ah, I see, this is rather awkward then."  
Cynder looked angry. "Do we look like we are bothered by you being angry?" she snapped .

"I suppose not," said Ghoulwyrm, "But I suppose I better show that I'm not a rude guest and bring forth my gift for your child."

Mina yelped and tried to push away at that, Matt starting to twitch as well, his own body glowing. However, several of Ghoulwyrm's tendrils reached out and snared the dragonling before bring her back to Ghoulwyrm. "Oh, no need to be shy, my dear," said Ghoulwyrm as he held out a little black box that had dark wisps coming from under the lid, "Don't you want to open your present?"

He paused at that as two things happened, the first was that Mina naturally freaked the hell out and the other was him feeling a burst of dark energy before a purple energy blast flowed through the room, causing everyone to stagger.

Even Mecha Red was surprised. "What on Avalar was that?" he asked.

A second later, Matt, in a full of feral rage, tackled Ghoulwyrm...as well as Mina biting him and running out the room . "Stop her! Don't let her get away!" called Ghoulwyrm as he struggled to get out of Matt's grip.

Matt growled angrily at that, smashing Ghoulwyrm down before growling at him...and being slammed by a brown blur. Matt got up a bit unsteadily and asked, "Who fired that rail gun round?"

A brown dragoness was in front of him, twitching with a crazy looking grin. "Hi...Myname'sVipraand Igottakillyouforsomereason," she gibbered at high speed .

"Say what?" asked Matt before a blow sent him flying.  
"I'msorrybutthebosssaidyou'reathreattomybuddiesinthecult!" The dragoness screamed before lunging at Matt again .

While Matt was being thoroughly distracted by his most...mentally disarming of his minions, Ghoulwyrm himself took flight after Mina. "Red, if any other dragons break loose, keep them from following," he called before flying through a wall.

Red nodded before going cross-eyed for a second and his arm slapped the back of Vipra's head. "Erm...I don't know why that happened...erm...yes, I'll keep them occupied," he said, looking at the offending hand.

…

Mina was flying as fast as she could. Once she was outside, she could alert the guards and they'd be able to stop Ghoulwyrm and save her friends. Though a tiny voice nagged in the back of her head about why they didn't stop him from entering.

On cue Ghoulwyrm phased out a wall, laughing like a lunatic, causing Mina to shriek and turn down a side corridor. "You can run, but you can't hide from me!" called Ghoulwyrm as he pursued her.

"Oh, where's help when you need it?" whimpered Mina, running past a window and wincing as Chris slammed into it and squeaked down and out of sight.

"There's no one you can run to either!" called Ghoulwyrm, sounding closer.

Mina yelped before turning down another corridor, trying to think 'Ok...what would dad do? Ok, ok, uh, I'll just breathe fire at him, right'

"Oh dear...is someone forgetting to be calm?" laughed Ghoulwyrm, Mina gulping as she turned to see Ghoulwyrm at the far end of the corridor .

"St-stay away from me!" yelped Mina.

"Oh please, you think simply asking will work?" laughed Ghoulwyrm before a blast narrowly missed him.

Ghoulwyrm turned to see a rather angry-looking Spyro. "You? Why aren't you be detained with the others?" demanded Ghoulwyrm.

"He's got problems of his own," growled Spyro.

...

The other dragons, while still immobilized weren't going unentertained considering that Mecha Red seemed to be suffering from rather significant glitches in his programming. Even Matt and Vipra had stopped their fight when Red had started broadcasting 'Ave Maria' every time he opened his mouth. Needless to say nobody had been able to stop Spyro and Cynder slipping out in pursuit of Ghoulwyrm

"I'm only going to say this once: get away from my daughter," growled Spyro.

"If you had been paying any attention to what Matt has told you of me, you would know I am immortal," said Ghoulwyrm.

"Immortal, but not invulnerable," said Spyro before spitting a fireball at Ghoulwyrm.

Ghoulwyrm yelped, ducking to avoid the blast before poking back up. "Hey, there is some banter to do, you know...EEEK!" he said, screaming again as a lightning bolt missed him .

"I don't know how often you threaten people's kids, but I don't take the endangerment of my daughter lightly at all," growled Spyro before throwing a ball of earth energy at Ghoulwyrm that he narrowly missed.

Cynder turned up at that, Mina crying "Mom." and running up to her, Cynder smiling before glaring at Ghoulwyrm who snapped "THIS IS UNDIGNI-" he yelled before a combined ice/wind blast froze him solid.

Mina was about to run towards her parents when a lightning strike in front of her made her stop. The three dragons looked to see Devina and Raptor standing in the hallway, an unfamiliar fire dragon behind them. "I knew you two would make this more difficult," said Devina, "But we have come too far to be turned back empty handed."

Raptor turned to the fire dragon and said, "Scorch, thaw out Ghoulwyrm. We need him to cast that curse. We shall deal with these usurpers of Lord Malefor's rightful throne."

Spyro and Cynder glared as the fire dragon spat a fireball at Ghoulwyrm before trying not to snigger as Ghoulwyrm screamed .

"Ow...burn..." whimpered Ghoulwyrm.

"Enough whining," snapped Raptor, "Get the curse on the child now!"  
Ghoulwyrm glared at that. "How dare you give me orders about my own perfectly timed pla-oh sod it, she's getting away!" he snapped, turning to see Mina running off. Spyro was about to go after his child when Raptor attacked him, his body giving off electric charges.

Ghoulwyrm's way was barred by Cynder. "You are not hurting my child," she growled.

"I'll deal with her, get the girl," snapped Devina.

"Allow me to help you a bit with her," said Ghoulwyrm devilishly.

Mina ran out to the roof, several weaponfire heard from the ground below. "Oh no, oh no," she muttered, looking down and flapping her wings. "Gotta get some height," she muttered .

"Lumina, calm down," said a familiar voice. Mina turned to see her mother. "The bad guys have all been beaten, you're safe," she said calmly.

"Mom, did you blast that stupid jerk?" said Mina, running up happily .

"He isn't...that hard to beat really," said Cynder, an annoyed look very briefly appearing on her face.

"Mom?" said Mina, spotting that and pausing in her approach .

"Sorry, I hurt my paw a bit in the fight, it's a bit sore right now," said Cynder.

Mina glared before saying, "Why are you hiding your face?"

"Hmm? Oh, the sunlight tends to bother my eyes when I've been inside for a while. That happens with shadow dragons but you won't have to worry about it for several years," said Cynder.

Mina stopped at that, backing up. "No...no it doesn't," she said as 'Cynder' sighed and walked forward.

"At least you inherited your mothers brains," she said .

Mina jumped back when she saw the black and purple eyes that didn't belong in her mother's face. She attempted to fly upwards but a claw made of shadows pinned her down.

"Amazing, I don't think that Cynder realized she could do that," said 'Cynder' with a cruel smirk, a black crystal appearing in her claws

"What have you done to my mother?" demanded Mina.

"Oh, she'll be fine after I've finished borrowing her body," said 'Cynder', "You, on the other hand, will have more to worry about than that."

Mina yelped, saying in a shaking voice, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm giving you your present," said 'Cynder' as the black crystal started giving off black sparks.

Spyro blasted Devina into Scorch with a crash before running past them. Raptor leapt into his way and shouted, "You shall not pass!" Spyro gave him a bemused look before jumping out the window. "Oh, right, we can fly," said Raptor a bit lamely.

Spyro looked down as he circled the building, seeing where city guards were fighting the monsters that Ghoulwyrm had brought. "If he's hurt Mina..." he growled to himself, coming into view of the roof .

For a moment, he was relieved to see Cynder with Mina. But then he noticed something seemed wrong with Mina. Mina's eyes were almost completely white, her pupils having shrunk so much. She looked like she was scared to death.

Spyro landed and went over to Mina. "Mina, are you alright?" he asked.

"She's fine, just getting a little addition," said 'Cynder', before she brought her claws down on his head . After Spyro was knocked out, 'Cynder' said, "Right, now where were we?"

Matt blasted the door open using Scorch and came up to the roof to see Spyro and Mina out cold.

"What's going on up-" he started when 'Cynder' used her Fear Screech to amplify her words, "NO INTERUPTIONS!"

Matt staggered back at that before something went snap. "You dare tell a plasma clan what to do?" he twitched causing 'Cynder' to go "Say what?"

However, the darkening of Matt's scales and the curving of his horns was easier to notice. "Looks like I'll have to make this swift," said 'Cynder' before spitting poison into Matt's eyes. Matt roared in pain before spitting a plasma blast at his attacker . 'Cynder' avoided the attack before blowing Matt off the roof with a wind blast. "Ok, let's get this over with before an air fortress shows up," said 'Cynder' before looking around just in case such an event was about to happen.

A laser burst narrowly missed her at that, causing her to turn to see three Atlantean fighters going overhead as one of their warships flying into view. "Oh well, at least it is done. Red, we're leaving," she said into a scrying stone before she shuddered and collapsed as a smoke came out her nose and mouth, becoming Ghoulwyrm .

When a response didn't come immediately, he called through the stone again, "Red, did you hear me?" Then for some odd reason, yodeling was heard coming from it. "RED!" he yelled, Matt flying back into view, apparently listening given his eyes were shut.

"Yes, mein captain," came a German-sounding voice, causing Ghoulwyrm to look confused.

"Er...plan 3...we're leaving," he said .

"GET TO DA CHOPPER!" yelled Red in an odd Austrian accent.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but put Vipra on the line," said Ghoulwyrm with annoyance.

"HI BOSS! IT'S ALL GOINGWELLCANWETHROWTHATPARTYNOWPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE?!" yelled Vipra down the line at that, causing Ghoulwyrm to yelp.

"Yes, yes, activate the portal spell already!" snapped Ghoulwyrm as the fighters and Matt started to orient on him.

Matt ended up landing with a crash as Ghoulwyrm vanished at the last minute.

"Where is he? Where is that undead hea-" started Matt before he walked into a wall.

Matt shook his head before saying "Why am I blind?" in a small voice as Spyro got up with a groan .

"What just happened?" asked Spyro.

"I'm not sure, last thing I recall was our fight in the hallway," said Cynder, who apparently wasn't fully aware of her possession.

The others turned to see Mina out cold. "Lumina...honey?" said Cynder in a terrified voice .

Mina's eyes blinked open. "Mommy, is it time to open my presents now?" asked Mina, oddly calm.

"Mina? Where are you?" called Matt, staggering past them and off the edge off the roof, causing all three to wince .

"Mina, did Ghoulwyrm hurt you at all?" asked Spyro.

"Who?" asked Mina with puzzlement.

"That thing that attacked you," said Spyro .

"Attacked me when?" asked Mina.

"Here, on the roof," said Spyro .

Mina looked around and asked, "When did we get up here?"

Cynder looked scared at that. "We should get you off the roof," she said, glaring at the horizon. "A shadow dragons curse..." she muttered angrily.

With a flash of purple lightning, the ne'er-do-wells reappeared in the cult's base. Ghoulwyrm laughed triumphantly and said, "Finally, a plan that has gone right. Admittedly, there were some parts that were unexpected, but nothing we couldn't-" He suddenly coughed a bit before looking at himself, "The hell? Why am I covered in this...black stuff? And how comes I'm the only one that has it?"

"Dunno...it happens every time..." began Red before screaming "THEN THE MEN COME MARCHING IIIIN…" in a singing voice.

"What the heavens wrong with you?" snapped Ghoulwyrm .

"I seem to be having a computer bug," said Red before he starting singing again, "Gotta crawl, gotta crawl, to the ugly bug ball, to the ball, to the ball."

Ghoulwyrm walked up and tapped the chestplate of Red which fell aside to show several spiderbots, most seemingly made from parts of Mecha Red. "I knew it was too good to last," moaned Ghoulwyrm, starting to cry a bit before he was mobbed by them .

Sometime later, both Ghoulwyrm and Mecha Red were trying to piece themselves back together, Red having the worst of it since his body required quite a few new pieces.

Scorch walked in, several bruises and marks on his scales. "Sorry, those things escaped into the walls," he said, apologetically, Ghoulwyrm snapping "It doesn't matter. The curse is in place so for once I win. Ow, watch the spine!" he sneered, snapping the last part at his body that shrugged apologetically .

"Also, believe it or not, we have a visitor," said Scorch, "She says she's here by your invitation."

"Send her in," said Ghoulwyrm, finally getting his head back on before Keenai came in, looking nervous, "Ah...about time, your little back way saved us alot of trouble when you placed that teleport totem in the city."

"Er, right, now that I've done what ye said, I just wanted ta say..." started Keenai before losing all composure, getting on her knees and crying, "Please don't kill me! I've done what ye wanted and I'll do whatever ye say. Please don't tell me I've outlived me usefulness!"

Ghoulwyrm and Red looked at each other. "I'm sorry, what?" said Ghoulwyrm finally.

"It appears she believes that you're the type of villain who disposes with his minions as soon as he's done with them," said Red.

"That's just stupid. Should we tell he she's wrong?" said Scorch.

Ghoulwyrm shrugged, "Nah, I need amusement."

With a lofty voice, Ghoulwyrm said, "Dry your tears, my child, you need not fear my disfavor for now. You may continue to be in my service in exchange for a number of services."

"Such as?" asked Keenai hopefully.

"Clean this black stuff off of me," said Ghoulwyrm.

Keenai's hopeful look went to a disbelieving look, "Yer kiddin', right?"

"Keep using that sharp tongue that's what you'll be cleaning it with," said Ghoulwyrm.

Keenai glared before going wide-eyed. "Sp-sp-sp-" she began, pointing.

"I don't suppose she's trying to say 'Spyro', is she?" asked Ghoulwyrm, sounding almost wistful.

"I'm afraid not," said Red with regret.

Two final noises were heard. The first was the always dreaded 'wheeee' of incoming spiderbots and the other was a surprisingly feminine scream from Ghoulwyrm that was cut off.

* * *

There's the next chapter. I went for the classic christening curse plot and you can see how much that has been twisted. It's also been a delight to introduce some new characters, namely Mina and Ferno, and extend the backgrounds of others, namely Zara and Keenai. Anyways, the next chapter will be shorter and lighter than this chapter, but I think it'll be plenty entertaining. Keep an eye out for it and please review.


	3. Courting Disaster

**Voyagers Saga**

**The Sundered World**

**Chapter 3: Courting Disaster**

After Lumina's rock-opening ceremony, much fuss was made into what curse Ghoulwyrm had put on her, though attempts to identify it had no specific conclusions. Cynder had especially not been pleased when every mage and Atlantean scientist had said whatever the curse was, it was a failure and almost certainly benign.

So far, the only discernable trait they could find was that Mina was particularly easy to find via shadow magic. It certainly made things easier for Cynder, but there were dark implications as to what else could use shadow magic to find her.

This was being shown in how Mina had not been allowed out her home since the attack, something Matt was bringing up. "You can't just wrap her in cotton wool," he was explaining .

"I'm not going to allow my daughter to be easy prey for monsters," growled Cynder.

"She's in the middle of the most heavily defended city on this planet. Morgan said the security fields are up now so if anyone tries to use shadow energy to get in they'll be vaporized," snapped Matt, Spyro sighing as he watched with Mina. "As a matter of fact, I hear Zara pushing to make it so shadow users have to get a permit to use their powers within the city," said Matt, "Megan and NegaMorph weren't amused by that."

Cynder growled angrier at that. "And me..." she hissed .

"Point is, we're upping the security to the point of being overprotective, ALL OF US, " said Spyro meaningfully.

Cynder glared before Mina said, "I wanna go out and see my friend."

"Which friend?" demanded Cynder.

"Ferno, the one you told me was ok to see," said Mina tiredly.

"Oh...ok. Spyro, go with Mina and keep an eye on her," said Cynder, causing Matt to facepalm.

"Defeats the point," he said .

"Cynder, Mina is not that helpless. If anything tried to get her, it'll be more their sorrow than hers," said Spyro.

Cynder looked upset before sighing. "I'm sorry...but...that monster..." she said sadly .

"Listen, I've known Ghoulwyrm long enough to know that was a particularly rare stroke of luck," said Matt, "Usually, his plans barely make it past the halfway point before something botches it up. In fact, I'd be very surprised if he'd make any sort of trouble soon."

Ghoulwyrm however was going half insane as Keenai worked on his rejuvenation serum, prattling on about her 'dear Matt'. "Oh please, please shut up. I'll teach you how to make lead into gold if you shut up," he begged .

"But don't ye think he's the most perfect match for me?" asked Keenai.

"Your singing voices can be compared to no other pair, that's for sure," said Ghoulwyrm dryly.

"I'm so happy ye think so," said Keenai before going on, Ghoulwyrm filtering it as 'blah blah blah Matt blah blah' .

He was almost tempted to remove his ears and stored them somewhere until she left. But with the spiderbots infestation, he couldn't be sure they'd still be there when he wanted them. "Look, why are you not out bug...I mean talking to Matt?" said Ghoulwyrm after a bit .

Keenai sighed and said, "I would but he made a fine bargain. He asked me to leave him alone for one day so he can enjoy it with my wretched little sister, Kala. But tomorrow, he'll be all mine to with whatever I please."

Ghoulwyrm mentally thought '_I'm guessing it'll involve a tazer,'_ before saying "Then why not ruin it for him?"

"Pardon?" asked Keenai.

"I mean, why not sabotage his date, make as much of a mess with it as you can," said Ghoulwyrm, "That'll certainly lower Kala's drive to win Matt back."

"The thought has occurred ta me," said Keenai, "But I dunno how ta do so without him findin' out I did it."

"You're an experiment, it's in your blood!" snapped Ghoulwyrm, seeing a chance for peace and quiet escaping if he didn't act fast .

"Er, I'm not as sneaky as some o' me other kin," said Keenai a bit bashfully.

Ghoulwyrm went bug-eyed for a second before snapping "I will give you a damned zombie army if you just go!"

"What would I do with an army of zombies?" asked Keenai, "That'd hardly be sneaky."

Ghoulwyrm went bug-eyed before screaming hysterically before Scorch, back in his teenage form, said "Hey, me and Vipra can help you out."

"Yes, good, help her!" snapped Ghoulwyrm.

"Fine, come on, let's go make sure that me love realizes that Kala ain't for him," said Keenai, triumphantly

Mina peered in before running into a room where Ferno and a couple of the experiments were waiting for her.

"Remind me, how we ended up with daycare duty?" asked NegaMorph.

"Well, since you're not allowed to use your powers for the time being, there's not much for you to do," said Draco.

"I'm pretty sure I have better things I can do than be chewed on," said NegaMorph as he tried to yank his tail out of Ferno's mouth.

Ferno stopped chewing to say, "We're helping Mina's godfather's date go well." calmly before continuing to chew on NegaMorph's tail

"Really? We're gonna be helping Keenai?" asked NegaMorph dubiously.

"No, silly, we're gonna be helping Kala," said Mina.

"Oh, is that so? Then count me in," said NegaMorph.

The other experiments seemed surprised at that. "I thought you'd do anything to make sure it was a disaster, given all the times Matt has made your life hell," said Draco calmly .

"That's in the past," said NegaMorph, "Besides, this is more about Kala. She's been miserable most of the time we were in Berk and I'm still kicking myself for not recognizing her sooner. She deserves to have a nice day." The others gave him blank looks before NegaMorph sighed and said, "In case you've forgotten, our souls are linked. So I know when she's down and it gets me down as well. There, self-serving enough to pass for normal?"

"Close enough. Ok, Mina. What's your plan?" said Draco, everyone turning to look at Mina who gulped as stage fright got to her .

"It's ok, Mina, we're all friends here," said Contrinus sweetly.

Mina nodded "Well, first off. We need to reserve a good cafe for them. Every couple loves a romantic meal," she said calmly .

"That's a good start," said Chip, "But what after that?"

Contrinus said happily, "There's a great view on the edge of the island."

"Ooh, romantic sunset, classy," said Draco, "But there's still a good amount of time between lunch and sunset."

"What about the park? It's usually quiet around lunchtime," suggested Ferno, NegaMorph taking the opportunity to get out of nomming range .

"Good idea, the park is a great place to play," said Mina.

Draco grinned suddenly. "And we could maybe sedate Keenai and mail her offworld?" he suggested, getting glares .

"Uh, let's not do anything that could get us arrested," said Chip, "I do wonder what Keenai will be doing today away from Matt."

Surprisingly, if the gang had looked next door, they would have found out immediately. "Ok, phase one: Scorch found out that Matt and the bitch will be going to that mutton cafe on 34th Lane," Keenai said, pointing to a badly-drawn map. Scorch just stared in embarrassment and Vipra...well she was on her usual sugar high .

"Ooh, we're gonna get lunch?" asked Vipra.

"NO! FOR THE LAST TIME NO! STOP DRINKING THAT DAMN COFFEE!" yelled Keenai, finally losing it .

Vipra paused and asked, "No more coffee?"

"No, no more coffee, you're not getting any more!" snapped Keenai.

Vipra's grin suddenly crystalized, her eyes wandering apart before she screamed and lunged at Keenai, bashing her against the wall screaming "COFFEE!" over and over .

Scorch sighed before saying, "I guess I'll have to wait to see what our 'brilliant plan' will be." With that, Scorch opened the door and walked out to bump into the dragoness from the ceremony and what looked like every minor crewman. "Eep," he managed as Mina shook her eyes back together and looked at him...before smiling. "Oh...hey there."

"Er, hi..." said Scorch hesitatingly.

"Aren't you one of those dragons who likes to hang around in the old ruins?" Mina said happily, before Vipra came out, grinning manically before seeing Mina. "Oh hi there, I haven't seen you since MMPH!" she said before Scorch shoved his paw in her mouth.

"Uh, sure, we've been there," said Scorch.

Vipra spat out Scorch's paw and said "My name's Vipra and the grouchy McGrouchytail's named Scorch. DO YOU HAVE ANY COFFEE?!" yelling the last part in Mina's face .

"I had a feeling importing coffee may bring out this kind of consequence," said Chip, though not ruefully. Heaven forbid they'd not have coffee with them.

Vipra turned at that and, in a literal blink was in Chip's face "YOU GOT COFFEE?" she shrieked .

"Er, not on me," said Chip.

Vipra looked crestfallen at that before saying "What ya doin'?" she asked, Scorch desperately making covert 'shut up' motions .

"Er, helping out a friend with his date," said Draco.

"Aw...so romantic," said Vipra, her eye twitching rapidly .

"Hey, maybe you can help out," said Ferno.

Scorch opened his mouth to say 'no' before he got an idea and he grinned. "Sounds like a great idea," he said evilly .

"You sure we don't know you?" asked NegaMorph, giving him a suspicious look.

"Nope," said Scorch with a grin .

NegaMorph shrugged, filing these two under 'possible pranksters' in his head.

"We'll meet you back here later," said Scorch, grabbing Vipra and dragging her away and going back into their building, where Keenai was dazed. "Good news, we got an in," he said .

"Say what?" asked Keenai in a dazed voice.

Scorch grinned and said, "Those idiots just let me and Vipra join up with them, even Mina."

"What? That easily? That can't be right," said Keenai.

"Well, we don't look like our stronger forms," said Scorch with a grin .

"Surely they would have noticed your natural malice and..." Keenai paused to look at Vipra who was licking her paws in an absentminded way. "Oh, right, I suppose they wouldn't."

"Yeah...anyway, we can find out and follow the date and sabotage it with ease," said Scorch proudly .

"Perfect, and I can keep in contact with you with our communication crystals...unless Vipra has already eaten hers," said Keenai.

On cue, Vipra burped happily, a screech of static also heard . Keenai sighed before asking Scorch, "You think you can relay my orders to her?"

Scorch nodded, "Sure, once she gets some caffeine in her, she's surprisingly attentive."

"Have you tried givin' her soda?" asked Keenai.

"Yeah...that should never be done again," said Scorch in a grim voice .

"Fine, just stick with them," said Keenai, "I'm not gonna allow that little wretch enjoy one day with me darlin'."

"Sure thing, aren't you going to help?" asked Vipra .

"I can't let them know I'm there," said Keenai, "I'll shall be providin'...er, technical support and issuin' commands."

"You mean you'll be hiding in the back," smirked Scorch

"That's what commanders do," said Keenai.

"It's also what cowards do," said Scorch with a smirk .

"When yer actually commandin' an army, you'll know what I'm talkin' about," said Keenai.

"Come on, Vipra. Let's leave the 'commander' to lead," grinned Scorch .

Matt and Kala flew towards the mutton café. "I can't believe you've managed to talk Keenai into letting us have a day to ourselves," said Kala.

"I had to agree to return the favor tomorrow. I plan to slip elephant tranq's into her tea," said Matt, a little grimly .

"Oh well," said Kala, not sounding surprised, "You think they're gonna try to deny me service again?"

"If they do, I'll have to burn the thing down," said Matt cheerfully .

"I just hope the mutton is worth the fuss," said Kala.

The dragon at the door seemed to recognize Matt and Kala at that, pausing as he weighed his options and deciding it was simpler to just let them in. "Welcome..." he said icily, making it clear that at least Kala was anything but.

"Table for two please, outside preferably," said Matt, trying to sound professional.

"They're all taken," said the waiter icily, Matt and Kala looking at the empty tables.

"Oh, and who reserved those tables?" asked Matt.

The waiter glared before padding over to his reservations and looking at the list, before seeing Matt's name. "What? It...it seems you do have a reservation," he said .

"How thoughtful of you," said Kala warmly.

"Uh, yeah, that's right," said Matt, trying not to sound surprised.

"This way," said the waiter icily.

Meanwhile, Scorch, Vipra and Keenai were peering at the kitchen. "Ok, a simple plan: we sabotage the meal and everything's down the drain," said Keenai.

"How so?" asked Vipra.

Keenai glared, before spotting the chef coming out. "You two go in and cook. Vipra, you make sure to spit poison into the sauce. Nothing fatal, but make them wish it was," she said, before shifting to dragon form and padding out

"Want us to get you something to eat while we're in there?" asked Vipra.

Keenai paused and said, "Yes, I am a little peckish."

Matt and Kala looked at each other happily. "For once, peace and quiet. No monsters, no mutants, no aliens to interrupt," Matt happily said .

"And nothing is separating us," said Kala, "No evil alter egos, no transformations, just us as we are."

"Indeed...and lotsa tasty mutton..." said Matt, a little aimlessly, causing Kala to roll her eyes .

"Yes, good food, but we've got more in mind for today, don't we?" asked Kala suggestively.

"Oh...ho-ho..." said Matt, with a happy grin before the waiter came up, two plates of mutton in front of them and two dragons behind him .

Matt sniffed the mutton and said, "Smells good, what kind of sauce is this?"

"It's my special super sauce of superness," said the female dragon, happily .

"That's nice. Would you mind tasting it for us?" asked Kala of the waiter.

"Why would we want him to do that?" asked Matt.

"I dunno, I think it's tradition or something," said Kala.

The waiter nodded. "That is correct. In cases of courtship, it's something put in place during the war against the rogue councilor, Red," he said, causing the two dragons behind him to gulp .

"Oh, ok then," said Matt, "Would you mind tasting the meal, sir?"

The male dragon gulped before saying nervously, "It's just a silly tradition..."

"Yeah, but I wanna show my girl that I'm not above doing silly things for a little romance," said Matt.

The male gulped before glaring as his companion said "Doo iiiiit."

"Oh for the love of, I'll taste it," snapped the waiter before taking a small bite from Kala's plate. The reaction took a second...but when it did, the waiter turned green and seemed to twitch before falling over .

Matt and Kala immediately said, "Check please."

Keenai sighed as she watched Matt and Kala leave unscathed before absently taking a bit of her own meal. "Huh, at least my food's fine," she muttered before noticing a smell from her own plate . She stirred the sauce a bit, finding a few specks of bright green that should definitely not be in there.

A blink occurred before she noticed that her hand was melting. "Oh crap," she muttered, though to the real world, it came out as 'orble urble atomic chicken' before she passed out .

Kala had more than half a mind to report that café to the health inspectors, if such a thing existed here yet. But she and Matt settled for a newer place that served fast food. There weren't quite as many people here for the fried stuff, but the ice cream part of the business had really taken off.

"Who knew you liked strawberry ice cream too...or that Avalar even had the stuff?" said Matt, he and Kala laughing to themselves .

"It helps a lot that they have ice dragons who can freeze this stuff as soon as it's been mixed," said Kala.

"Yeah," said Matt, the two stopping at a weird sign that said 'Turn left here."

"Oh please, like they would really expect us to fall for that," said Matt.

"Who's 'they'?" asked Kala.

"Don't know, but I'm not falling for it," said Matt as he walked around the sign.

Kala sighed and followed, the two walking out into an almost empty park, several human and dragon families walking around the park's lake .

"Huh, this is pretty pleasant," said Kala.

"Indeed, makes you forget your troubles, seeing all the families around," said Matt, happily . He soon noticed his mistake when he noticed the sad expression on Kala's face. "Hey, we will have one of our own someday. Even if I have to hunt Alayshia down to one of the ends of one of the universes," said Matt. Kala smiled sadly at that, the two nudging their heads kindly before Matt said, "Let's find somewhere to sit for a bit."

"Oh, there looks a good spot," said Kala, pointing at a large blanket laid out at the base of a tree. Oddly enough, there was a little sign that said 'Lynch' next to it.

Matt peered, surprised at the sign. "Ok...that's new," he said, walking forward .

Kala laid down on the blanket with a sigh. "Ah, this nice. Just the perfect spot in the shade," she said.

"Yeah...I thought that too," said Matt, in a puzzled voice. First the table and now a blanket, this was getting weird.

Kala yawned and said, "I'm gonna take a quick nap. Try not to disturb me too much."

Matt nodded, looking around before spotting Draco, peering out of a bush. "I'll be right back," he said distantly before headed over to said bush. "Ok, come on out," he said, getting a funny look from a passing family. "They're in the bush," he said, as if telling a bush to come out was the most normal thing in the world.

As soon as the family left, Matt fished around in the bush before pulling out Mina. "Hi Matt," she said.

"That's good, just sit there," said Matt kindly, setting Mina down before blasting he bush with a plasma blast, leaving the blackened experiments. "Ok...explain," he said .

"We're just helping out with your date," said NegaMorph.

"Uh, can I hear that from someone more believable?" asked Matt.

"We're just helping you out with your date," repeated Chip.

"Ok, I'm guessing that you set us up with the table and the blanket," said Matt .

"Yep, and we also picked out a spot for you to watch the sunset," said Contrinus.

"Nice, that's very nice. Is there a reason the chefs at the cafe you chose almost poisoned us? If there hadn't been that weird rule about chefs taking the first bite, poor Kala would be out cold," said Matt .

"Poison? Why would there be poison there?" asked Draco.

"No idea, probably just bad cooking. Some other diner keeled over as we left," said Matt casually .

"Huh, that's odd," said Chip, "But it definitely had nothing to do with us."

Matt nodded before his eyes narrowed and he asked the penultimate question, "Is Morph involved in this venture in any way?"

"No, of course not," said NegaMorph, "In fact, he's gonna be busy all day."

Chris glared, covering his ears to silence the screams. "That's it. When we next see NegaMorph, we shoot him. Locking morph in a room with a Kermit puppet..." he snapped .

"At least he didn't lock him up with that creepy ventriloquist dummy whose eyes follow you no matter where you stand," said Techo, "Why do we have that thing anyways?"

"Oh, that's in there too," said a trooper, having cheerfully gone deaf and had been simply lip reading for the last half hour .

Chris turned to Techo and asked, "What terrifies NegaMorph?"

"I'm not sure yet, but we're gonna find out and use it against him," said Techo.

"Agreed...revenge," said Chris, shaking from a particularly nasty scream.

"Like I said, he's occupied," said NegaMorph, grinning evilly and rubbing his hands together, resulting in everyone taking a step back from him .

"Is it gonna mess up with my date?" asked Matt.

"It shouldn't," said NegaMorph.

"Very good, if it does, I'll feed everyone except Mina to the spiderbots," said Matt promptly .

"Ah, you're worrying over nothing," said Ferno.

Matt looked at him for a second before asking, "Why did you bring him along?"

"Because we can't get rid of him," said Draco dryly.

Matt sighed. "Look, new job; make sure nothing interferes with this date for me or Kala," he said, before turning to leave, "Oh...and thanks, guys," he added before going .

"Aw, he does appreciate us," said Mina.

"Yep, and all we have to keep that appreciation and our hides is to make sure nothing spoils this date," said Draco.

Vipra and Scorch winced as Keenai groaned at them. She would have been yelling but Vipra's little concoction was still effecting her. "As much as I ought to be liquefyin' yer ears for poisonin' me, foulin' up me sister's date is more important," groaned Keenai, "Now, you know exactly what yer supposed ta do?"

"Throw them a party?" said Vipra, causing Scorch to facepaw.

"Look, it's very simple," said Keenai, "There's a hornet's nest in that tree they're under. All you have to do is rile them up enough to make them go after Matt and Kala."

"Dazius hornets are very smart..." warned Scorch but it fell on deaf ears

"Just go stir them up!" snapped Keenai.

"How so?" asked Vipra.

"I dunno, whack their nest with a stick," said Keenai.

"I'll do it." said Vipra cheerfully, "I can talk hornet." getting weird looks from her partners in crime .

"To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if she can," said Scorch.

"Fine...just do it," snapped Keenai before her cheeks bulged and she ran around a corner.

"You sure you know what to do?" asked Scorch.

"Of course," said Vipra.

"As much as I doubt it, we're wasting time," said Scorch, "Let's just head over there."

Vipra and Scorch, disguised in their teenage forms, sneaked slowly towards the tree the happy couple were asleep under. "Ok, remember, we have to be quiet," said Scorch carefully to Vipra .

"Right...why again?" asked Vipra.

"Because if they wake up, we die." said Scorch sarcastically before Vipra tilted her head and Scorch said with a sigh "No more coffee ever. Look, can you speak with the hornets or not?"

Vipra nodded before flying up and making buzzing noises at the hive. To Scorch's shock, several buzzes were returned, as several hornets flew out to glare at Vipra .

"Er, what did you tell them?" asked Scorch.

"I said the only phrase I know. Sting the dragon I'm looking at," said Vipra cheerfully, looking at Scorch .

Scorch looked at the hornets gearing up to attack before turning Vipra to make her look downwards. "Would you remind repeating that?" he asked.

Mina and company came back from a quick lunch/recharge to see quite a sight. A small cloud of hornets were circling the happy sleeping couple. "Uh, this looks like a problem," said Contrinus, "But how to fix this without them waking up?"

Chip shrugged. "I could tell them to stop," he said, getting several funny looks . "I've read a book here about how the insects are intelligent enough to use their own form of Morse code. It's not that complicated a code since they don't have a very extensive vocabulary," said Chip.

"Oookay," said Draco, Mina saying "I think we should hurry, they look pretty angry."

"Right then," said Chip before tapping on his eyebrow as well as flashing his eye at the same time. The swarm of hornets paused in their buzzing and sent patterned buzzing back at Chip who responded in kind. After a bit of back and forth, the hornets flew off.

Mina was the first to speak. "Where did you send them?" he asked cautiously.

"Oh, told them that whoever sent them on this stinging spree was in league with the honeybees," Chip said with a grin .

"So where are they going?" asked Draco. "Apparently back to air their complaints," said Chip.

Keenai was grinning to herself, though she was also making burps. "Finally...when do you think they'll start?" she said happily, listening for screams.

"Should be any time now," said Vipra cheerfully.

Keenai rubbed her paws together gleefully before pausing, a buzzing noise getting louder "Wait, what is that?" she asked.

The trio turned to see the swarm of hornets flying at them. "They're probably here to tell us what a good job they've done," said Vipra.

"How could they be here to do that if they haven't done it yet?" asked Scorch.

The bee's shot up to Vipra, glaring at her before seeing that Vipra was looking at Keenai.

"Er, maybe you should talk ta them again," said Keenai. Vipra shrugged before saying the one phrase in hornet that she knew.

The hornets all saluted at one before they all lunged at Keenai .

Draco was giving the sleeping couple a content smile before he frowned and asked, "Anyone else here the pained cries of a lady in trouble?"

"Nope, must be your imagination," NegaMorph lied.

Keenai, now half bandaged, glared at her fellow criminals. "Ok, we have one more chance. ONE MORE...we are getting this one right...GET ME?" she said, snapping the last part .

"Okey-dokey," said Vipra, saluting.

"Ok, this time, we know that the cliff's unstable. We simply remove the warning signs. Think you can do that?" snapped Keenai .

"Uh, you do know they can fly, right?" pointed out Scorch.

"Got a better idea?" growled Keenai .

"What about we throw a big rock at them?" suggested Vipra.

Keenai twitched before screaming "BRILLIANT!"

"Uh, wouldn't that end up hurting your 'beloved Matt' as well?" asked Scorch.

"As long their date is ruined, WHO CARES?!" yelled Keenai, looking rather demented.

Scorch sighed at that. "Well, it's gonna end badly anyway. Might as well get it over with," he muttered .

"Right, now, how do we throw that big rock at them?" asked Keenai.

"Hey, what about that thing?" asked Vipra, pointing at a catapult outside of Warfang, probably left over from Malefor's siege.

Keenai glared before snapping, "Whatever, JUST DO IT!"

Eventually, Matt and Kala flew on over to the cliffs so they could watch the sunset. "So, you have had a spot picked out for us here too?" asked Kala.

"Indeed I do," said Matt, having earlier gotten the gang to come clean, meaning at least there wasn't any suspicious signs this time. The duo flew past one of the islands near the city to see a small cliff outcropping overseeing the sunset .

To Kala's surprise, there was a table set up for two on top of the cliff, with candlesticks, a picnic basket, and a champagne bucket. Matt, to his credit, kept his own surprise hidden, the two landing and shifting back to human form as they naturally didn't want to find out what happened when a dragon drank flammable alcohol.

"Oh, Matt, you've really thought of everything," said Kala as she opened the basket to see what was packed inside.

"That I did, though I had a little help," said Matt, sitting down too and peering into the basket, grinning as he spotted a ham sandwich.

"Yeah, I suspected as much," said Kala, "This has been a great day, but it's a bit too perfect for you to have done by yourself."

"Yeah, I just wanted this to be perfect, that's all. Something to remember when I'm being tortured by Keenai tomorrow," said Matt .

"Oh, it can't be all bad," said Kala, "Besides, you've mastered tuning out people years ago."

"True, but her singing...even I think it's bad," said Matt, gloomily .

"I think she's only trying to imitate your style or think that you like to hear it too," said Kala, "She's a bit masochistic you know."

"She's insane," said Matt, bluntly .

"Isn't that a required feature for Shar-Virk?" joked Kala.

"Good point," said Matt cheerfully, taking a sandwich and biting into it.

Meanwhile, the 'backstage helpers' were watching from afar. "Sounds like it's wrapping up nicely," said Contrinus.

"Yeah, keep an eye open," said Chip, "The poisoned mutton and the hornet attack probably weren't coincidence. Chance are that there's gonna be one last attempt to ruin this date."

"Why's that?" asked Mina.

"Because things always happen in threes," said Draco.

"That and I can see someone setting up a catapult over there," Chip added, pointing in the distance

"A catapult? Are they really going to try for something that blunt?" asked NegaMorph.

"Apparently so," said Chip as he extended his zoom, "Hmm...having trouble making out who they are. I need to a night vision upgrade."

Ferno tried to peer over Chip's shoulder. "What are they gonna fire?" he asked .

"Looks like...a big rock," said Chip.

"That's it? I would have done something more poetic, like sheep stomachs," said NegaMorph, earning him a look of disgust from everyone.

"You're weird," said Ferno calmly before biting NegaMorph's tail again.

"You think we can blow it up before it gets here?" asked Draco.

"I don't think so," said Chip, "It's a pretty solid-looking rock. Even if we did blow it up, it'll hail down on Matt and Kala. If only we could deflect it. There are those floating islets around, but how could we move...them..." Chip paused and gave Mina a thoughtful look.

Mina backed up at that. "You're kidding. I haven't even taken my first lessons from the guardians yet. I couldn't move those," she said .

"Don't be silly, you're already proficient with fire and can handle basic convexity, earth should be a cakewalk for you," said Chip.

Mina gulped at that before the group saw the rock take off, heading for them. "Ok, Mina, you can do this," Mina said to herself, concentrating before the rock began to glow green, slowing down.

"Nice work," said Chip as the rock came to a floating stop, "Now just set it gently..." The rock suddenly zoomed back to where it came from at about 10 times the speed it was going. "...down," finished Chip lamely.

Mina winced as a mushroom cloud of dirt appeared in the horizon before the shockwave blew Contrinus's feathers back. "Ooookay...I think we need to run...right now," she said .

"Yes, Matt and Kala's date is secure so..." said Draco before they all flew off. Well, most of them flew off.

"Hey, wait!" called Chip, "I don't have wings, remember?"

Keenai rasped, "Nnnnnnngh…" as she smoked gently, Scorch and Vipra next to her.

"That was...a slight overreaction from them," he coughed before falling over .

"Wow, that was a rush," said Vipra dizzily, "Can we do it again?"

"No..." coughed Keenai, adding "Now call a medic...I need to take a quick nap." before she fell over too

Vipra looked at her thoughtfully and asked, "Hmm, Scorch, you think she needs a doctor? Scorch? Scorch, are you still there? Scorch, why aren't you answering? Scorch?"

Apart from the weird explosion at the end of the day, Matt considered his date a resounding success, having planned to send Mina and Ferno some presents and work out a reward or something similar for the experiments.

Sadly, now he had to meet Keenai for her day. For some reason she wanted him to meet at the general infirmary in the city center. He figured he might as well get some painkillers here while he was at it. And laughing gas, that ought to help get him through the day.

He walked in and was surprised to be steered to a ward on the top floor, walking in to see what looked like a draconic mummy, such were the bandages and casts in place. "Is that Keenai?" asked Matt to the doctor who was also in the room.

"Yes, we found her near the cliff area, looks like a localized meteor impact. What are the chances?" said the doctor .

"Looks pretty brutal," said Matt, "How much is the damage?"

"Pretty bad, but she'll make a full recovery in a few days," said the doctor .

"But until then, she's completely unable to move?" asked Matt, sounding more eager than was appropriate.

"Can't even talk," said the doctor sadly, before frowning as Matt airpunched with a 'yes'.

"Well, I'd like to stick around, but I have other-" started Matt before he opened the door to find two guards outside.

"Keenai's instructions were clear," said one guard, "In exchange for a full day with Kala, you are to spend this day with here."

Matt shrugged. "Can I get a book? She's not talkative," he said .

"Of course," said the other guard.

As Matt was walking out, he said, "It wouldn't matter if I brought some company along, would it?"

"I'm afraid not," said the second guard, "You are supposed to spend this day with just Keenai."

Matt shrugged and said, "Better get an extra-long book then."

Ghoulwyrm just stared at his remaining generals, stoically ignoring the gales of laughter from Red and Devina, Raptor just sharing his shock. "Ok...what happened?" he finally said with a sigh .

Scorch, who had plenty of bandages wrapped around him and two black eyes, said, "Well, the job was simple enough, but for some reason, everything we tried got backfired onto Keenai. And the last one hurt us as well."

"I thought so, experiments seem to attract pain," said Ghoulwyrm to himself

"But he had a fun time and isn't that what counts?" asked Vipra who was in a body cast.

"And where exactly is Keenai now?" asked Ghoulwyrm.

"Hospital," said the duo in unison .

"Is that so?" asked Ghoulwyrm before turning to a large crystal orb, "Let's see if that's true." He sent a crackle of power into it and commanded, "Show me Keenai."

The orb beeped before saying, "The number you have dialed has not been recognized, please try again."

Ghoulwyrm glared before shaking it to get 'never gonna give you up' briefly blaring out. "Stupid crystal cavern's messing with the orb," he muttered, shaking it again to get an image of a hospital bed

Ghoulwyrm blinked and it took a while for any of them to recognize the heavily-bandaged dragon as Keenai. Matt could also be seen in the room, reading a book. "Wow...rock really did a number on her," said Vipra .

"So...how long will it takes before she's back?" asked Ghoulwyrm.

"Those injuries...days...maybe weeks," said Devina, peering at the image .

"Ah, good, keeps her out of our hair, metaphorically speaking," said Ghoulwyrm.

"What about Matt?" asked Raptor cautiously before being hit with a spell that turned him into a confused-looking duck.

"Look, as much as I'd like to see Matt suffer with having to marry her, I'm not gonna waste all my time watching him or her," snapped Ghoulwyrm, "We've got far more important things to attend to. We need to build up our army."

The others nodded weakly at that, though Raptor just quacked angrily . "Keep up that quacking and you'll be roasted," growled Ghoulwyrm, "Don't think I can find someone to easily replace you." Raptor just settled for flapping up and pecking Ghoulwyrm repeatedly, even chasing him out the room.

"So, does this mean we get time off until we heal?" asked Scorch.

Devina nodded. "Indeed, I think Raptor is going to give our glorious leader a mandatory holiday," she said, grinning.

* * *

There's another chapter. A softer more lighthearted chapter, with plenty of comedy that derives from classic cartoons. Anyhow, the next chapter will be more action-packed, but I think it'll be funny enough in some places. Keep an eye out for it and please review.


	4. Flora and Fauns

**Voyagers Saga**

**The Sundered World**

**Chapter 4: Flora and Fauns**

For many people, progress meetings are torture, no more so then for a mercenary. Poor Matt was sitting through one just now, half listening to the progress report on the repair and rebuild effort for Warfang.

Honestly, he didn't care much about Chip's company one way or the other. But since Chip hadn't officially resigned yet, he has to attend his business meetings, no matter what he'd rather be doing. He realized someone was talking to him. "Is the torture over?" he asked carefully.

Chip sighed and said, "I was just going over the growth of the industrial economy since the settling has started, though I suppose I could just move ahead to the long-term goals of our reconstruction project..."

Something in Matt snapped at that, "How many buildings have you and your little robot immigrants built?"

"Well, since you've asked so politely," said Chip before looking at his notes, "In addition to the buildings we've renovated, we've built 25 new houses for residences, 7 office buildings, a laboratory for R&D which has yet to be refurbished, an amusement park, and a satellite complex. The new power plant and transit system is still under development."

"Amusement park? Satellite station? These guys don't even have opposable thumbs. Does the word, 'overkill' ring a bell?" said Matt, twitching.

"The satellite station was for the incoming refugees. We'll be needing a satellite system so that we can keep an eye out for the NSC," said Chip, "And the amusement park was commission by a local entrepreneur."

"Who would want to make a bloody amusement park...wait, I think I know who," said Matt darkly.

"Who?" asked Chip.

"Moneybags," said Matt darkly.

...

Several Avalarian months ago...

"What? You expect me to pay that much for some cheap chocolate?!" snapped Matt.

"I assure you, this chocolate is hardly cheap," said the business suit and monocle-wearing bear, "This chocolate has been brought all the way from the distant rainforests of Glukoshia. You'll hardly find anything sweeter to nibble on."

"I've literally travelled this planet. There's no such place," said Matt, smugly.

"Well, the natives have a different name for it," said the bear, "But G. Auric Moneybags never deals out anything but the finest goods and the prices has to reflect their value in its entirety. Economics, you know."

"I'm not interested," snapped Matt. Usually this would have been considered an overreaction but Moneybags also apparently knew a good target and had followed Matt all over the city all day.

"Oh but surely, there must be something you're interested in," said Moneybags, "Have I showed you my exclusive Think-Gloves yet?"

"No, have I showed you my digestive tract yet?" said Matt, grinning evilly.

"Now good sir, there's hardly a reason to use violence," said Moneybags, "I am but a simple salesbear looking to make a sale. And if anyone here wants to buy something, I know it's you."

"GUARDS!" yelled Matt, rattling several windows. Even trapped as a dragon, Matt had an impressive yell.

"I can see that you're a hard dragon to bargain with so I'll just cut straight to the premium one-of-a-kind merchandise," said Moneybags, "Have you, perchance, heard of my Universal Communication Crystal? It allows you to speak to anyone anywhere in this dimension and the next."

"I SAID-wait what?" said Matt, stopping.

"Yessiree bob, my Universal Communication Crystal can access any communication device within the next three to four dimensions," said Moneybags, "The perfect item for the traveler whose business takes them far, far away from their home and friends."

"I dunno, it looks like a health crystal," said Matt carefully, peering at the crystal.

"Health crystal?! Are you accusing G. Authentic Moneybags of false advertisement?" said Moneybags, sounding deeply offended, "Well, if my business isn't considered creditable enough, perhaps I should offer it to someone else. I bid you adieu, sir."

"Gee, sorry my...wait a minute, you just changed your name," Matt said.

"Oh, I'm always willing to accept an apology," said Moneybags brightly, "Perhaps a demonstration is in order?" He tapped at the crystal and a holographic image projected out. It was staticy for a moment before focusing on an image of Moleyair. "Good evening good sir," said Moneybags, "I hope you don't mind the interruption. I just wanted to show my young friend how useful my little gizmo is."

"You, I'm still waiting for a refund on zose drill heads you sold us. Zey were made of-" began Moleyair before Moneybags hurriedly killed the connection

Matt gave Moneybags a suspicious look and said, "That was still on the same planet. I've yet to see proof it can cross other dimensions."

"Sorry, only one demon…" began Moneybags before his face was lightly singed by a burst of plasma flame from Matt. "I'm sensing hostility," he rasped.

"Show me that crystal actually works or you're out of here," growled Matt, his voice heavily indicating he didn't mean Moneybags would be walking away.

"Well, if you truly insist, I suppose I'll have to call one of my distant business associates to confirm it," said Moneybags before tapping the crystal and making another hologram flicker into place, eventually revealing a robotic head with a black helmet and purple eyes.

Matt went bug-eyed at that before yelling "YOU...!" he snapped, Swindle going "Uh oh" before Matt literally ate the crystal.

"Well, I'm glad we've managed to business today," said Moneybags.

"What are you talking about?" snapped Matt.

"Oh, just a simple store policy, 'you eat it, you buy it'," said Moneybags, "Now let's I believe the price on that crystal was, oh, 2000 gems."

Matt glared before saying, "I'm not done yet. That was just the starter," causing Moneybags to yelp

"Now sir, there's no reason to get, well, unreasonable..." started Moneybags.

"DIIIIE!" screamed Matt, luckily being stopped by the passing Ember and Flame.

...

"How could have he had contact with a Cybertronian?" asked Chip.

"Who cares? That guy was as much of a sneaky shyster as the other was!" snapped Matt. Chip gulped as Matt continued, "And you gave him the contract."

"Just for the record, he was the one doing the paying. From what I've heard, that amusement park has been doing quite a lot of business and he's almost finished paying us for the construction," said Chip.

"Have the Constructicons check the quality and go over it," said Matt sternly

"If you think I'd allow unsafe rides to be built, I would consider that a serious insult to our bond of trust," said Chip offended.

"Then you wouldn't mind if we went there personally to make sure," said Matt.

Chip nodded, "If it'll confirm...you're gonna try and eat Moneybags, aren't you?"

"Of course not, why would you ever think that?" said Matt, his fingers crossed behind his back.

Chip sighed, not trusting that at all before Matt said "Either take me along or I let Contrinus know exactly whose idea it was for her to be a pet parrot when we were in Berk."

"As I recall, that was actuall..." started Chip before Matt glared at him, "Oh, alright, fine. Just don't make a scene of yourself."

...

Elsewhere in Avalar, Ghoulwyrm was doing something that all evil overlords need to do: check their own defenses.

"This is going to end badly," he thought, thinking about his 'minions'. "I need to transmute more of those morons first chance I get," he muttered before wincing as he felt a twinge of nature magic. "Grr...stupid local rules of magic," growled Ghoulwyrm, "It's bad enough to have to worry about light without having to worry about stupid plants."

He paused as he sensed the sort of magic, causing his eyes to narrow, anti-undead spells. "Those nature mages might be a bigger hindrance than I thought," said Ghoulwyrm, "I need to reduce their power or their numbers, whichever is more easily accomplished."

He came out of his trance, turned and jumped back to see Vipra staring happily at him. "Is there something you need?" asked Ghoulwyrm in an annoyed tone.

"You look like you're melting," said Vipra carefully, causing Ghoulwyrm to back up a bit "Ooookay… We're switching you to decaf," he said.

Vipra immediately made gagging noises as if Ghoulwyrm had said she'd be eating something absolutely disgusting. "Decaf, we do not mention the drink that shall not be named. Yes that's right, Mr. Flibble," she said, talking to the air beside her before walking off, happily holding a conversation.

Ghoulwyrm tilted his head before saying, "Well...that explains why there's a movement to ban coffee."

Then he turned his attention back to more important matters, namely finding where the greatest concentration of nature mages on this world was. He pulled out waved a hand at the bookcase and the relevant book came flying into his hands. He opened it and flipped it a couple of pages. "Hmm...Fracture Forest, the largest forest that is untainted, home to several woodland creatures that are in tune with the magic there. Perfect." he muttered before realizing that an all-out attack would almost certainly fail. He'd need something that would be immune.

"Hmm, trying to kill it with fire and frost wouldn't work, they're bound to have defenses against that," said Ghoulwyrm, "Though if I poison it, it'll not weaken them, it'll taint the forest and make it harder for them to tap into pure nature power."

Vipra ran up at that. "I got an idea. We should ask the king of the potato people for help."

Ghoulwyrm's mouth just fell open before he said quietly, "What even..." shaking his head. _'Ok, she's definitely disqualified. She couldn't poison anything properly, except maybe with caffeine. Can plants be poisoned with caffeine?'_ thought Ghoulwyrm.

He suddenly remembered something before grinning, readying a summoning spell and casting it. There was a flash of light and Mantichrome appeared on the floor upside down. "What the- Oh, it's you," said Mantichrome annoyed as he scrambled to right himself up.

"Mantichrome, I command you to..." began Ghoulwyrm dramatically before Vipra squealed "A CAPPUCCINO MACHIUNE! YOU DO CARE!" tackling Mantichrome over.

"Get off of me! I'm not a cappuccino machine!" snapped Mantichrome.

"I want my latte!" yelled Vipra before picking up a battleaxe and chopping it into the middle of Mantichrome's back.

Ghoulwyrm yelped, tossing Vipra aside and asking "Mantichrome, speak to me, are you ok?"

"I have a medium-sized battleaxe lodged in my spinal network," said Mantichrome dryly, "That sort of thing can really put a crimp on your day." Ghoulwyrm sighed, pulling the axe out and tossing it away.

Mantichrome got up and said, "Now why did you drag me to- DIRKDIDDIRDIDIDDIPDIP!" His back sparked and his optics flashed different colors with the last part. Mantichrome shuddered before screaming "ORDER UP!" and a sealed Styrofoam cup shooting out into Vipra's waiting claws.

"Er, I wouldn't drink..." began Ghoulwyrm before Vipra swallowed the cup, contents and all.

"Mmm...yummy..." said Vipra drooling acid onto the floor, which seemed more virulent than usual.

Ghoulwyrm just pointed. "What are you?" he said in quiet shock before having his head temporarily dissolved when Vipra burped on him.

Ghoulwyrm's bare skull gave as much of an annoyed look as it could before saying, "Do you have any idea how long it takes the flesh to grow back?"

"That coffee tastes off," complained Vipra before walking out.

Ghoulwyrm turned towards Mantichrome and asked, "Are you coherent enough to take orders or will I have to employ some percussive maintenance?"

"Enif m'I," said Mantichrome before yelping.

Ghoulwyrm sighed before zapping with lightning. "That better?" he asked.

"I'm fine," said Mantichrome

"Now then, I've got a mission for you, one that I think you'll take delight in," said Ghoulwyrm.

"Yeah, I'll bet," said Mantichrome dryly, "What do you want me to do?"

"There's a certain forest on this planet that has very strong nature magic, which is aligned opposite of undead magic according to the local laws of magic. I want you to take your minions there and annihilate all growing things you find."

"I don't have minions anymore. Your curse smashed them," said Mantichrome darkly.

"Don't give me that. You've had more than enough time to put them back together. And I know it wasn't my curse that smashed them," said Ghoulwyrm.

"I can't get them here anyway. _Someone_ made that summoning spell only to get me and I doubt they'll even get close with all the ships in orbit," snapped Mantichrome, aiming a punch as Ghoulwyrm wasn't looking and silently yelping as the curse stopped him.

"You're a computer virus, you know how to bypass security," said Ghoulwyrm, "And I know some of your robots are capable of digitizing as well. Now get as many as you can here, hijack or manufacture more if you have to. I want that forest uninhabitable."

"Fine, I'll just build them. I'll need to customize them to deal with dragons anyway. Where's the nearest technology?" said Mantichrome.

"The Atlantean colony has the best equipment," said Ghoulwyrm, "Heard they've been expanding since those construction robots showed up."

"No, I won't use Atlantean tech. It's usually booby trapped. Where are those construction bots though?" said Mantichrome.

"I believe they're some of those 'Transformers' and that they're working for Chip," said Ghoulwyrm casually.

"CHIIIIIIIIIIII-" roared Mantichrome before his head and back sparked and he froze in place, though a completely different voice came out of his mouth, "Oh, Yvonne, I have been lying to you for too long. The truth is I have been diagnosed with...split personality disorder."

Ghoulwyrm sighed before conjuring a mallet out of thin air and slamming Mantichrome over the head. "-IIIIP!" roared Mantichrome, apparently not noticing his stall.

"Yes, you think you can take his Constructobots or whatever they're called?" asked Ghoulwyrm.

"Cybertronians are not that simple to hack," growled Mantichrome, "Their sparks make them much more sapient than other robots. But I can summon my Monstercons if I have an open link to the Nullspace Network."

Mantichrome then said "Nothing happened...did it?" before Ghoulwyrm said "Nothing mmmph...nothing at all..." managing to stop himself from breaking out in laughter.

"Well, deforestation is one of my favorite pastimes," said Mantichrome, "I think I can handle the mission, assuming that the forest's inhabitants won't be too much of a bother."

"The forest is far from any dragon-inhabited landmasses and inhabited by simple creatures who have nothing more advanced than bows and arrows," said Ghoulwyrm, "Assuming you and your teams can handle the nature magic, they shouldn't be a problem."

"I'll be fine as long as..." said Mantichrome, coming to a stop before Ghoulwyrm said "Chip?"

Mantichrome managed to control his temper and continued, "As long as _he_ and his friends don't show up. I'm presume that you can prevent them from coming."

"Not openly," said Ghoulwyrm, "But the forest has no direct contact with Warfang. Unless you allow one of the natives to slip away, they won't know the forest is in danger until it's too late."

"Fine, I'll have to be 'sloppy' then," said Mantichrome.

...

Sometime later, Chip had directed Matt to the entrance of Moneybags' amusement park. Matt looked up at the sign and said "Moneyland? You've gotta be kidding."

"Yes, there's been a lot of debate over the name," said Chip, "The Constructicons wanted to call it 'Six Lasers over Avalar' for some reason, but the name didn't fly. I think Moneybags is gonna host a contest over the park's new name."

"And I bet it'll be rigged," said Matt, shifting to dragon form and walking in.

As they passed through the gate, a blue laser swept over them. Matt jumped and asked, "What was that?"

"Oh, just the park security," said Chip.

Then a holographic screen appeared and displayed Chip's picture. "Chip Pelekai, park architect, welcome." Then it displayed Matt's picture, "Matthew Lynch, Shar-Khan mercenary..." Then the screen flashed a 'not allowed' sign over Matt's picture and said, "You are denied permission to enter Moneyland."

Matt shrugged, opened his mouth and blew the gates off their hinges. "Overridden," he snapped.

"Well, that'll bring the security droids," said Chip calmly.

Matt shrugged. "I smash droids all the time," he said before several recolored Imperial destroyer droids rolled into view. "Chip? You care to explain?" said Matt darkly as the droids took aim.

"Moneybags spared no expense and apparently amusement parks are a prime target for terrorists," said Chip.

Matt glared. "Terrorists? Here? Even the kids could eat a terrorist!" he snapped

"Probably, but Moneybags isn't the type to want his property damaged," said Chip.

"That's sad. I'm gonna flatten this place unless he appears in 60 seconds, dial fast," said Matt, shifting to hybrid form and starting to juggle a high density plasma orb

Chip sighed before activating his comm, "Moneybags, it's Chip. No, this isn't about another project. No, I'm not interested right now. You might have noticed the disturbance at the gate. Yeah, yeah, he says he'll flatten your place if you don't get here. I know, but he's not very rational. Oh, he means it and he can do it. Ok, I'll see you in a little bit, bye."

One of the droids said "Step aside, you are obscuring targeting."

Matt glared "If you move, Chip, I'll plasma you next."

Chip turned to Matt and said, "You know, it's that attitude of yours which makes me want to resign faster."

"And where will you go? The mind wipers?" said Matt cheerfully as the bear of the hour walked into view, glowering at Matt before yelping as Matt tossed the orb at him, the Ferris wheel behind him vanishing from the impact. "YOU! PREPARE TO BE A NEW PAIR OF HATS!" he snapped.

"I told you, there's just no reasoning with him sometimes," said Chip.

"Yes, yes, I see his temperament hasn't improved much," said Moneybags.

"You used me being stranded for a year from my friends to try and give me a dodgy data crystal, a short ranger!" Matt snapped angrily.

"Which you never paid for and swallowed I might add," said Moneybags, "I bet that didn't agree with your digestive system."

"I've eaten worse, meatloaf in the cafeteria," said Matt promptly before snapping, "What's your angle? Warfang needs an amusement park like I need roller skates."

"Oh, I think the children disagree with you on that," said Moneybags as a couple of young dragons went by, talking excitedly about the roller coaster they were just on.

Matt went a little wall eyed at that before glaring at Chip. "I thought the city was still under construction," he snapped.

"What? This was a quick side-project," said Chip, "Rides are relatively easy to construct compared to buildings."

Matt glared, picking up Chip and snarling "Can you guess what I and the council probably want you to concentrate on instead?"

"The park was already finished," said Chip, "Well, we'll have to rebuild the Ferris wheel, but that'll take about an hour or two."

"Besides, your friends certainly seem to enjoy my park," said Moneybags.

Matt grinned psychotically before roaring "FIX THE CITY FIRST OR I'LL FORCEFEED YOU TO THE SPIDERBOTS!"

"If you had paid the least bit of attention to my report, you'd know we've finished with the repairs and are now working on expansions," said Chip.

"I never listen to reports. You should have remembered that," said Matt promptly, causing Chip's optic to twitch.

Just then, Morph walked over, looking noticeably slimmer than usual. "Wow, did you go on that Space Dive yet?" asked Morph, "I lost so much mass on that ride. I wonder where it went?"

"I hate everything," muttered Matt darkly.

Morph shrugged and said, "Ok, I'm gonna get something to eat," before walking off.

Matt snorted. "Nobody with a fully functional brain will go anywhere near your rides, Moneybags. Didn't Zara say she'd charbroil you if she ever saw you inside the city again?" he said, referring with some happiness to the only time Zara had given him permission to attack someone.

"We're not within the city limits, haven't you noticed?" asked Moneybags.

Just then, Megan came up, all her hair stuck in a blown-up position. "Guys, you are not gonna believe how fast the Space Dive goes. Those Constructicons did a pretty good job, right, Gary? Gary?" A retching sound was heard and everyone looked to see Gary leaning over a trash can, making a big deposit.

Matt sighed. "I forgot, none of my crew are 100% sane," he said gloomily before snapping, "You two are supposed to be checking Spyro and Cynder's kid is ok."

"Mina's fine, we left her with Draco and Contrinus," said Megan, "They said they could look over her."

Matt glared before suddenly grinning. "Why not go get Mina, Draco and Contrinus? I'm sure they'll love this place to bits," he said, putting emphasis on the 'bits' part.

"Uh, sure, why not?" asked Megan.

Gary stood up and said weakly, "I'll go get them. I've had enough...momentum for one day."

"Revenge," said Matt happily to himself

Chip looked confused and said, "How does that constitute..." Then he glanced at Moneybags and said, "Oh, right."

Matt grinned, clapping his hands happily. "We gotta stay here to watch the results," he said, pleased with himself.

Just then, Matt's comm beeped and WARDEN's voice said, "Sir, can you and the officers report back to the ship please?"

"What's happen this time? Plus, it's not my ship, Neilson's taken it," Matt snapped.

"I think we both know how likely that is going to last," said WARDEN, "But the reason I'm calling is of a more personal nature. Can you come soon?"

Matt nodded. "As soon as I've finished watching celebrity demolition," said Matt.

Moneybags snapped, "That's enough! Golems, remove this..." Matt clicked his talons and the heads of the destroyer droids exploding. "...I mean give this gentleman a VIP pass," said Moneybags, not missing a beat.

Chip gave Matt an annoyed look and said, "You do realize which one of us is going to have to pay for the damages later, right?"

"I told you, no construction company, consider this punishment," said Matt cheerfully.

Chip's annoyed look intensified as he made a mental note to get revenge on Matt for this later.

Matt just laughed, walking round the corner and into an unfamiliar person. At first glance, this person would have been mistaken for a chestnut-haired human woman. That is if she were wearing a hat and you only saw the top half of her. Her horse-like ears and similarly equine lower body made a clear difference. She was wearing a green shirt that showed plenty of skin around her neck as well as a matching skirt. By the amount of dust on both, she had apparently been travelling some distance. "Matthew Lynch, I was hoping I would find either you or Spyro," she said, "I suppose I should not be that surprised you were easier to find."

Matt looked a little confused, "I'm sorry, have we met at all, miss..."

"Elora of Fracture Forest," she said, "I'm guessing you haven't heard of me then."

"No, I think I would have remembered if I learned that satyrs lived on Avalar," said Matt.

Elora gave an annoyed sigh and said, "I'm a faun, dork. Satyrs are part goat, I'm part horse."

"Calling me a dork while clearly looking for help is not a good start," said Matt coolly, turning to walk past her.

"Wait, my home and people are in danger," said Elora.

"Take a number. I have to save people every day," said Matt dryly.

"But the metal monsters are poisoning our home right now," said Elora.

"Call Superman then. I'm off the clock," said Matt sarcastically, walking past her.

"But you can't just-" started Elora before Matt shushed her and said, "The show's starting."

Draco, Contrinus, and Mina had flown down through the gate. "I thought this place was recently opened," said Contrinus, "Why would the gate be busted already?"

"Matt's probably been here," said Draco dryly.

Mina however looked like a kid who had been given the key to the candy store, already rushing in before Draco and Contrinus could stop her. "Oh, the abundant joy and energy of youth," said Moneybags before saying to Draco and Contrinus, "I trust you'll be paying for her fare, right?"

Draco backed up a bit and said, "Wait, a bear? Nobody said anything about be...be...be..."

Moneybags peered closely. "Are you ok, sir?" he asked before Draco sneezed through his ice mouth. A half-frozen Moneybags managed to say, "Are you feeling well?"

"He's allergic to bears unfortunately," said Contrinus before Draco let an electrifying sneeze.

Matt cheered as Moneybags was sent flying on a column of smoke. "Nice one, Draco. Wonder where Mina is..." he wondered before an explosion was heard. "She has her godfather's knack for demolition," he said happily.

"You're her godfather?" asked Elora dubiously.

"Oh yes, I mean, I already accepted responsibility for Smoldron and Sonya's kid when it hatches, but I'm such a good role model and friend that Spyro asked me to act for his own," said Matt, "It was a lovely ceremony. Shame about that curse though."

"Curse? The elders mentioned something about undead..." said Elora.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll fill you in later," said Matt, "The demolition's really about to get started now."

Elora looked confused before a huge sneeze was heard and a fireball blew up a popcorn stand. Matt laughed as Draco let out one big sneeze after another, each from a different mouth and destroying something. "Oh man, he's gonna demolish this place more spectacularly than I was gonna do," said Matt.

"Was this really necessary?" said Elora disapprovingly before Matt said "It belongs to Moneybags."

That made Elora reconsider. "Moneybags is a pretty well-known swindler," said Elora, "He once tricked us into buying some ineffective 'magic fertilizer'."

"I'm karma," said Matt happily as another explosion was heard, several cheers, if Matt was right, coming from the hatchlings in the park. "You know what, I'm in a good enough mood right now that I'll personally help with your problem," said Matt, "So what kind of polluting robots are you dealing with?"

"The robots came out of nowhere...attacked our grove..." moaned Elora sadly.

"Did they say why they were attacking?" asked Matt.

"No, though one of them did say something like 'death to squishies'," said Elora, "I think that one was the leader, it looked like something between a snake and a scorpion and they all had this symbol on them."

Matt leaned in to see the symbol carved on a small piece of wood before snarling, "Mantichrome."

"You know that monster?" asked Elora.

"We've met, the 'calling people squishies' things new though," said Matt.

"Do you think you can stop him?" asked Elora.

"Like it's nothing," said Matt confidently.

"What is nothing?" asked Chip as he walked up, causing both Matt and Elora to jump.

"Mantichrome's here," Matt finally said, recovering.

"I should have known," said Chip, "Well, I guess we'll be going to go stop him, right?"

"Yes," said Matt cheerfully.

"Ok, I'll round up the others," said Chip, "As soon as Draco's nose calms down."

...

Mina wasn't happy to be left behind. "Dad said you had to look after me for the day," she said sadly to Contrinus, Draco sneezing in the background.

"I know, sweetie. But these other people need our help," said Contrinus, "We'd take you along, but I know your parents wouldn't want us exposing you to danger."

"I'm tough enough," said Mina, a little confidently.

"But you don't have enough experience, especially with fighting robots," said Contrinus.

"I can learn," said Mina sullenly before trying something Morph had taught her, the puppy dog eyes expression

Contrinus winced and said, "Oh no, not fair, too cute...MATT! Tell Mina she's not allowed come!"

Matt, not really paying attention, called "Mina, tell Contrinus to live a little."

Mina gave Contrinus a smug grin and said, "You heard my godfather."

Contrinus glared at that, flapping over to Matt and landing on his shoulder. "Oh Matt..." he said sweetly before rapidly pecking on his head, yelling "IS ANYTHING IN THERE?!"

Matt grabbed Contrinus and threw him away, unfortunately into one of Draco's ice blast. Matt winced as Contrinus landed next to Draco who winced in sympathy, Contrinus looking furious under the ice.

"Oh, I can thaw her out," volunteered Mina before taking a deep breath. Matt and Draco yelped, diving for cover as Elora just leaned in curiously.

Mina may not be that old, but she had plenty of power. However, control of said power has not yet been mastered. This was confirmed as a blast of flame engulfed Contrinus, leaving her blackened. "Thank you, Mina," she rasped weakly.

"You think I have enough power?" asked Mina.

"Oh yes, plenty," said Contrinus "I'll go talk with your parents, but first..." She sprang up and flew at Matt before pummeling his head like a woodpecker.

Elora yelled "ENOUGH!" a tree sprouting below Matt and Contrinus, resulting in them suddenly being in some branches. "Oops." said Elora nervously before saying more confidently, "There's no time, every second counts. Those machines were knocking at the elder tree's gate when I used the scrying spell to find the nearest hero of Avalar."

"I'm guessing your spell isn't picky," said Chip dryly.

"Shut up, Chip. You're coming too," snapped Matt as Elora began to cast something.

"Fine, fine, we'll just get a ship and-" started Chip before there was a sudden flash of light and everyone had vanished.

...

Mantichrome laughed as the Monstercons came up. "Oh, give me some more good news," he said happily.

"Well, we found these friendly pixies," said Whipsting, holding up a jar with several of the things inside, "They don't even try to escape. They just flutter around and say 'I love you' and other junk."

"Wonderful, toss them with the others. Next!" he called, Whipsting backing off, muttering, "The boss happy is freaking creepy."

"Ok, what else have we got?" asked Mantichrome.

Roughshell held up a small wood troll and said, "I found this living puppet."

"I'm not a puppet!" yelled the wood troll.

"Then what are you?" asked Deathgrip dryly.

"Uh, a magic leprechaun that gives you lot of good luck if you treat it well?" said the wood troll only for his twig-like nose to grow substantially longer.

"I don't think so," sneered Mantichrome, a flamethrower unfolding from a servo.

"Wait, wait, I tap dance too!" said the wood troll desperately, his nose growing even longer.

Mantichrome shrugged before firing. "KEEP SMASHING AWAY!" he yelled to his minions.

"Sir, isn't there some higher objective?" asked Deathgrip, "Some prize we're supposed to be seizing or something?"

"No, just deforestation, the job itself is reward enough," said Mantichrome, "Now find me a body of water that I can poison."

"That may be hard. Much of the groundwater's sourced from their base," said Deathgrip professionally.

"Roughshell, you're in charge of digging to those waters," said Mantichrome, "If you can't reach any, feel free to break the roots apart."

A drone ran up. "Master, scanners have detected a signal matching that of the hated one."

"Which hated one?" growled Mantichrome.

"Er, I think it's the one known as 'Lynch'," said the drone nervously.

"LYYYYYYYYYYYNNNNN-" roared Mantichrome before freezing as his head and back sparked.

A female voice came out of his mouth, "Jeffery, does this mean your quadruplets are who I think they are?"

A male voice said, "That's right. They're not my quadruplets, they're all my different personalities."

Roughshell rolled his optic and got ready to hit Mantichrome's head only for Deathgrip to say, "Not yet, I missed this episode."

...

There was a sudden flash of light before the group appeared again. "-head on to...oh," finished Chip just before Matt found that his altitude had not been altered and there was nothing within reach to hang on to.

"I hate you," he glared as he sank below view.

Mina looked around and said, "Wow, this is Fracture Forest? I thought it'd be more...fractured."

Matt pulled himself up and said "Look over the edge, my dear."

Mina walked over to the edge and looked down. The forest was subdivided into a lot more islands than she had seen any place on Avalar. There were some islets that contained nothing more than a bush or a tree. There were even a few trees free floating with roots connecting to more trees.

"What was that about no fractures?" said Matt, panting as he finally pulled himself up.

"Was it always this jigsaw-like?" asked Draco.

"We had floating plants before, smaller islands in fact," said Elora, "Whatever forces that fragmented the rest of the world made no exception here."

Nina sighed, looking around. "Wow," she said, looking around.

Matt nodded, "Ok, Elora, lead the way so we can get to smashing."

"You can fly, can't you?" asked Elora as she was tugging at some hanging vines.

Matt glared, grabbing Chip as he shapeshifted, the group taking off.

Elora was swinging and jumping between trees with practiced ease. "We ought to meet with the elders," she said, "They were safe the last time I checked, but I need to make sure nothing happened since then."

Draco flew close to Matt's head at that. "I don't think we should be here. Mina's only done some training. She could get hurt," he whispered.

"What better training then out in the field?" asked Matt.

"She's gonna get killed, you idiot!" snapped Draco angrily.

"With her parentage and us to protect her? There's nothing to worry about," said Matt dismissively.

Draco glared before peeling off, now next to Mina. "Kid, if we get into trouble, get behind me. The sort of people we go against are pieces of work," he said.

"But won't we have the field advantage?" asked Mina.

"These guys make their own..." began Draco before a missile hit him.

The group looked around to see several locust-like robots with the eye symbol flying about. A larger one with a purple symbol said, "Looks like we've got some invasive species. Well we were here first so buzz off."

Matt glared and spat a plasma ball at them, the group of bots scattering while firing. "GET EM!" yelled Matt. However, getting one particular bug in a swarm is rather difficult, even if they were larger robots. The laser blasts made that even more complicated.

Chip yelped as Matt's hand holding him was shot, dropping him unceremoniously onto Mina. "Oof...wow, you're heavy," she complained, trying to dodge several blasts

"I'm actually quite light," said Chip, "Your wing muscles haven't developed enough quite yet."

"I'm not that old...yet," glared Mina before she cried out as a laser burst hit her in the back.

"Which also means your hide is tenderer," said Chip sadly before they both started dropping. Two of the 'buzzbots' grabbed them before they fell, Chip hearing Matt yelling after them as they vanished into the treeline.

...

Needless to say, Draco was not pleased in the least. "I can't believe you'd allow something that reckless!" snapped Draco, "Ok, maybe reckless is something I can expect, but never irresponsible." Matt wasn't listening as they flew through the tree's following Elora towards a clearing where a huge tree stood.

"I mean, your first concern should have been her safety like any good godfather's ought to be. I would have expected better caretaking from Morph than... Hey! Pay attention when you're getting a lecture you actually deserve!" yelled Draco. Matt glared before looking shocked as Draco punched him. "I said pay attention!" the experiment snapped.

Matt glared at Draco and said, "You dare-"

He was cut off by Elora whistling loudly. "As much as I'd like to dress down Matt too, we're almost at the elders' and I'd rather your first impression not be a poor one."

Matt snarled, "This isn't over." before he shifted to hybrid in midair and aimed to land in the courtyard.

It was hard to say whether the building in front of them was a tower or a giant mushroom, but it was probably safe to say it was the latter that had been built into the former. Elora approached the large grate at the front and called, "Father, I brought warriors from Warfang!"

A few seconds later, the gate opened and a tall, muscular centaur stepped out. "I knew you would not let us down, Elora," he said. The centaur stopped before saying sternly, "That's not the dragons of legend."

Matt deadpanned before saying, "Wow. Feeling the love."

"Yes, but he should be just as good," said Elora, "He's a powerful warrior and he's faced the menace that's plaguing our forest before."

The centaur looked at Matt and Draco before glaring at the latter. "One of the hosts of Malefor's generals...and a person who is clearly mad."

"That was hardly voluntary," said Draco.

"I'm not mad. I'm just mentally dented," said Matt sadly as the centaur said "I suppose we must make do. I hope you are bringing friends."

"Only if we need cleanup," said Matt swaggeringly.

"Cocky, you'll be dead in minutes," said the centaur grimly, causing Matt's eye to twitch.

Just then, the gate opened more and more centaurs came out. "Have the warriors arrived yet?" asked one.

"Perhaps, though I'm not sure they'll be enough," said Elora's father.

Draco however was the first to voice the 'elephant in the room'. "Hey, shouldn't there be more fawns around?" he asked.

"They stay inside. Would be a good idea to allow our young ones to be harmed," said Elora's father.

"Er, I'm glad you care so much for your adopted kindred," said Draco.

"Adopted?" replied Elora's father in confusion.

"Well, yeah, I mean, you care a lot for Elora even though she's not really your daughter," said Draco.

"Are you suggesting that Elora is not my blood daughter?" demanded Elora's father angrily.

"Well how could she? I mean you two are entirely different species," said Draco desperately.

The centaurs stared for a second before they all started laughing at that, Matt asking, "Do you want a little mustard on that foot in your mouth?"

One of the centaurs wiped the tears from his eyes and said, "That joke never gets old."

Elora's father had also gotten over his dark mood, "I see you're new to this part of the world. Otherwise you'd know the fauns _are_ our offspring."

"What?!" said every one of the gang.

"We have a different lifecycle than most species," explained Elora, "You see, first we are born with only two legs and mature to the point where we're like the adults of other races. But then we go through a second stage where we grow our wisdom feet. In fact, I'm almost finished." She lifted up her shirt to reveal her stomach and the small hairless horse legs that were curled up on her sides.

Matt stared for a minute before saying, "Ok...I'll take your word for it.

"Er, how long until you're fully...four-legged?" asked Contrinus faintly.

Elora held up her tail and said, "You see the white tip? Faun tails are completely white when they're born and they start changing to match our other hair when we're going through the second stage. I have about two more weeks before I'll be fully developed."

"Lovely...let's get to why I was called?" said Matt distantly, trying to unsee the image of tiny legs.

"Indeed," said Elora's father, turning serious again, "As you've been told, our forest is being assaulted by those metal monstrosities. They pay no heed to pleas for mercy or surrender. They don't slaughter, but they do capture who they can and take them back to their lair. I shudder to think what they do with them there."

"Sounds like Manti's M.O. He loves to gloat to an audience," said Matt casually, happy to be on a subject he was good with.

"But how do we stop him?" asked a centaur, "They cut through our wood magic with their sharp claws and blades."

"That's because they probably have chainsaws for claws. You want blunt force like boulders, or a nice pit full of water, or acid. Whichever works," said Matt, sternly, "These guys are all machines, machines he's probably made to deforest this entire area..."

"You do realize this is the Fractured Forest, right?" asked Elora's father, "Such resources are not that readily available.

"Ok, you got anything good at crushing stuff?" asked Matt, a little testily.

"Will these work?" asked one centaur, holding a large sledgehammer.

Matt looked out. "I can see half a dozen ways to squash droids in the treeline alone. Hell, some even use the trees," said Matt calmly

The centaurs looked doubtful at that. "I'm not sure what good it would to stop these droids if it meant wrecking the forest," said Elora's father.

"What's the alternative?" said Matt grimly.

There was a grim silence before one of the centaurs said, "We're not quite what you would call agile. I mean, we've been able to get through the forest before, but even before the fragmenting, we've never been able to reach the treeline."

"I mean where the tree's begin!" snapped Matt, climbing up the wall to point, turning as he spoke and ducking as a laser bolt parted his hair.

The centaurs looked more nervous at that. "They're not used to leaving the forest," explained Elora, "We're more likely to wander outside while we're still fauns, but the eldest almost always prefer to remain in the forest. In fact, I'm one of the very few who has gone as far as Warfang in the last two generations, let alone leave the forest."

Matt nodded. "You forgot to mention the SNIPERS!" he snapped, patting the smoke on his head desperately.

"You didn't notice them?" asked Elora, "I thought dragons were supposed to have sharp eyesight."

"_Half_ dragon!" Matt snapped at that.

"Actually, you're one-third dragon," said Contrinus.

"Yeah, if his eyesight was that sharp, he wouldn't still be wearing glasses," said Draco.

Matt glared at that before a plasma blast shot through the wall and sent him flying into the compound, more shots shooting out. "Oh, what timing, we're just in time for the hourly raid," said Draco dryly.

"How did you know they raid every hour?" asked Elora.

"Uh...lucky guess," said Draco.

Several whirring claws bit through the wood of the wall at that, tearing a chunk out to let several creatures in. Apparently Mantichrome was working on psychological warfare as he had built these robots to resemble centaurs. They were quite a bit more lifelike than his usual work.

Draco's first and logical response was to spit some ice at the first one, its arm firing laser bolts at the panicking population. Matt turned his hands into claws and said, "Ok, let's start recycling these tin cans."

The bots turned to face Matt at that, firing rapidly only for the lasers to bounce or be absorbed by an erected plasma shield before he descended on them, claws and all.

However, Elora called, "Wait, don't destroy them!"

"Why not?" asked Matt.

"They're still our people!" called Elora.

"Wait, what?" Matt said before being knocked back by several blasts, a few of the centaur bots now firing nets.

Contrinus was a bit quicker to catch on. "Draco, we need to disable them, but not permanently," she called.

Draco nodded, sending a blast of lightning at the bots, causing them to judder and fail into a sort of standby mode. Of course, it took a little bit longer to disable the bots, which gave the functional ones enough time to start dragging out their captives, including Matt.

It was ten kinds of unfortunate that they chose to grab Matt instead, who was still annoyed over the laser and plasma blasts. "Stop, but don't smash, right," said Matt before he snapped off the arms of the ones that tried to grab them. Elora yelped at that, in horror before Matt said, "That's why God invented welding torches," before he hit the surprised centaur bot with his own arm.

The centaur bots appeared to retain some self-preservation as they quickly backed away from Matt.

One bot however looked a bit lost before Draco managed to freeze its legs down. "Is this what they mostly send or can we expect larger, more kill-friendly ones?" asked Draco.

A roar from the treeline caused Matt to glare. "Never, ever say that," he said darkly.

Several trees were knocked aside as a large mecha bulldozed/hacked its way through. This robot looked like a cross between a giant crab and a tree leveler with treaded legs, chainsaw pincers, and several exhaust pipes along its back belching out black smoke.

"Oh, come on!" snapped Matt, looking up at it. The leveler crab focused its optics on Matt and came at him, its claws open to snap/chop him in half. "I wasn't serious," moaned Matt before the crab snatched him.

Fortunately, Matt had switched to his anthro form and his scales were just a bit too tough to be sawed through. Though that didn't stop the mecha from bashing Matt against everything. The centaurs winced in sympathy before Matt was thrown over their heads into a building

The crab snapped its pincers before it started rumbling towards the others. Draco and Contrinus took off as the crab headed for the centaurs, grabbing one every so often and putting them in a hatch on its back, while also smashing all and sundry

"Ok, any ideas about how we defeat that eco-nightmare?" asked Contrinus.

"Let's see, how did we beat Deforestator?" asked Draco.

"Wait, wasn't he captured before you were created?" asked Contrinus.

"I mean his viral clone," said Draco.

The crab finally seemed to notice them at that, turning and making a futile snatch at them. "Draco, a plan would be good any time now," said Contrinus.

"Hey, it's not very easy under these conditions," said Draco, "I wish Chip were here. He'd know how to handle that thing. Or at least he'd be able to short it out."

The crab paused at that, a distant 'CHIIIIIIIII-' heard in the distance.

The mech came to a stop at that, apparently in-between instructions. "Huh, I wonder what I just did," said Draco.

...

Mina and Chip watched with mild interest as Mantichrome stood in a frozen pose, some kind of soap opera coming out his open mouth. "Jeffery, I have a confession to make too," said a female voice, "I am not who I seem I am."

"Do you have split personality disorder too?" asked a male voice.

"No, it's not my mind, it's my body. You see, I'm a shapeshifter and this isn't my true form."

Mina looked at Chip at that. "Does this happen often?" she asked curiously.

"This is the first I've seen of it," said Chip, "I think he has some processor damage." On cue, a minion waddled up and slapped the back of Mantichrome's head, causing him to finish his scream. "Hmm, this could of use to us," said Chip, "Or at the very least good entertainment."

Mantichrome turned to glare at them both. "Oh, there will be entertainment...for me," he snapped.

"I seem to recall that you have rather poor taste when it comes to entertainment," said Chip.

"Indeed, but this should be fun for me," said Mantichrome, a needle folding out of one of his arms before he fired it at Mina. The skin of a more mature dragon would have made the needle bounce off. However, Mina's tender young skin soaked up the needle's contents like nobody's business.

Chip pulled the needle out as Mina cried in pain as Mantichrome settled in front of them. "Ok, little annoyance, why are you with this tin can?" he asked

"Because he's one of my friends," said Mina.

"Hmm...good enough...and where are you from? You seem familiar," he asked.

"I'm from Warfang," said Mina.

Chip turned in shock. "No...ix-nay..." he said desperately as Mina, in a new almost-sleepy voice began to go into detail.

"My parents are Spyro and Cynder. People have been saying since I was born, which is about a month or so ago, that I'd inherit great power. I supposed that's why Ghoulwyrm laid that curse on me," said Mina.

"Mina, don't say that," winced Chip before Mantichrome laughed "Oh, this is good. It even works on dragons. Mina, punch Chip."

"She doesn't have fists, you-" started Chip before he was struck hard enough to fall onto his side.

"Very good, least the mental part's finished. Leafstripper, I think you can let her out now. She won't cause any trouble," said Mantichrome evilly.

"I still have a chipped gasket from the last time you told me it was alright to let something out," said Leafstripper.

"It's fine this time. Mina, my dear, you will obey every word I say; blow Leafstripper's head off," said Mantichrome.

"Not again," moaned Leafstripper before he lost his head yet again.

Chip however was horrified, "Mina, what are you doing? That guy's as evil as they come."

"Mina doesn't care anymore," said Mantichrome gleefully, "She's nothing but an obedient drone now. And soon her body will reflect that."

"What was in that shot?" snapped Chip.

"Oh, something I stole from the NSC, some rampant nanites with a little touch from me," laughed Mantichrome.

"You really are heartlessly evil," said Chip darkly.

"Thank you, I do think this is my finest work yet," said Mantichrome, "But flattery's not going to save your life." Mantichrome grinned at that before pausing. "Actually, I think I'll let you watch. You won't wanna miss any of this," he laughed cruelly.

"When Matt and the others get here, they're gonna reduce you to scrap," said Chip.

"I am not that easily destroyed," said Mantichrome, "But that does remind me, I have a battle to finish. Now then, where was...I?" He paused as he saw nothing but feeds of captured centaurs...and Matt jumping up and down on the head of his leveler crab. "I hate you guys," he said dully.

"Don't you hate it when you turn your attention away from your video game for a minute and you come back and find out you've been killed while you were gone?" asked Chip tauntingly.

Mantichrome twitched at that before yelling "CHIIIII!" twitching in place before the radio came back.

"Yvonne, I don't care what you really are, I still love you," said Jeffery's voice, "But out of curiosity, what does your true form look like?"

"Oh, you don't want to see it," said Yvonne, "It's far too repulsive."

"Oh, come on, how bad could it be?" asked Jeffery's voice. Then there was a squishing and melting sound, accompanied by something that sounded like a cross between gargling and belching. "Holy cow, that's what you really look like? Er, not that it's a bad thing."

...

Matt tossed the head of the crab bot aside. "And that's how we do things. I get hit alot and the others use me as a distraction!" he said, snapping the last part at the sheepish-looking Draco.

"Well, it all worked out in the end, right?" said Draco.

"You used me as a club!" snapped Matt, Elora wincing and wandering over to Contrinus who just looked embarrassed.

"Is it always like this between those two?" asked Elora.

"We usually have more guys to balance it out," said Contrinus.

The chief however had just gave a pained cry. The others turned to look and Elora soon had the same wounded expression. The chief was standing over one of the centaur bots that was quite clearly a female. "Mom?" Elora said quietly, the bot trying to get its gun arm free.

Matt walked over and used his dragon strength to remove its gun arm at the shoulder. "We'll put them all back together again once we've figured out how to cure them," said Matt, though his tone didn't sound to convincing. If anything, it sounded more indifferent.

Draco glared at that. "He's losing it," he muttered to Contrinus.

"And not the usual giggling before exploding kind," muttered Contrinus.

"Yeah, I think we need to keep an eye on him," muttered Draco carefully.

"Unless he provokes the centaurs into killing him first," said Contrinus, noticing the other centaurs giving Matt dark looks.

Matt, for his part, was returning the glares with interest, before Elora said quietly "I chose the wrong person, didn't I?"

"He's normally not this bad," said Contrinus, "He just needs someone to give the right second opinions sometimes."

"We both know," began Draco only for Contrinus to plug his mouth.

"Maybe I ought to have a look as to how your people have been, er, roboticized so I can start figuring out how to cure them," said Contrinus.

"It's a waste of time," said Matt darkly, causing a few centaurs to start muttering.

"Now you don't know that until you've tried," said Contrinus before she started looking over Elora's mother, "Hmm...well, I sense that there's something truly alive in there, but I'm not sure what more there is. Technology's not my strong suit."

"We need Chip," said Draco, looking at the treeline.

"Then let's stop wasting time here and storm Mantichrome's base already," said Matt.

"First sensible thing he's said in over an hour," said Elora.

"Erm..." began Contrinus.

"Right, we're not just gonna sit on our hands and wait for him to send another wave of killer robots at us," said Draco, "Let's bring the battle to him."

Contrinus tried to say that Mantichrome was almost certainly preparing a trap but was drowned out via Matt and Draco's testosterone as they charged off towards the treeline. Contrinus sighed and said, "Boys," before flying off after them.

...

Chip meanwhile was staring at the partially roboticized Mina who now had an empty look to her eyes...well, her remaining organic eye, the other was a glowing blue orb. He had heard of this kind of organic-to-cybernetic conversion, but this wasn't something he wanted to see. But he had heard of cases being reversed, though he wasn't sure how to undo this one.

"Mina, can you hear me? You need to concentrate on your memories," he called through the bars, remembering that part as well.

"My audio receptors are functional. My memory bank provides the data needed to complete my orders," said Mina without any emotion.

"What about your parents?" said Chip carefully.

"My organic progenitors are of no importance to my orders as of yet," said Mina.

Chip simply hung his head at that before getting a risky idea. "So you will do anything you're been ordered to do, right?" asked Chip.

"Affirmative," said Mina.

"Then how about we change that order?" said Chip before reaching out and grabbed Mina by the back of the head and uploading viral energy into her.

Mina tried to pull loose at that as the viral energy went to work, eating away at the new programming like the experiments in a pile of coconut cake before Mina's head slumped forward. "Oh smeg, oh smeg, I totally crashed her hard drive," said Chip in a panic, "Oh man, Spyro's gonna kill me."

Then Mina lifted her head and said, "Programming error, programming requires update, please insert new programming."

"Oh thank God, I mean, act like you would before...erm...upgrades," said Chip, taking a few calm breaths

"Processing..." said Mina as her optic flickered and blinked. Then emotion appeared on her face, horror at first. "Oh man, he nearly turned me into a total robot," said Mina before turning to Chip and saying, "Thanks a lot for saving me. Er, can you get the rest of the metal stuff off?"

"Not without the tech back at New Atlantis," said Chip, "If you were fully converted I could do more...half and half is harder." before jumping as Mina twitched.

Mina looked back as the small spines along her back converted into glowing glass bumps. "Er, how long would it take me to finish converting?" she asked.

"At the rate? Before Mantichrome returns most likely," said Chip casually before regretting his casualness.

"I'm gonna completely turn into a robot?!" cried Mina.

Chip gulped at that before saying, "Look on the bright side; it'll be easier to fix." before jumping back as Mina's optic turned red.

"That's not the point," she snapped.

"Well, maybe you'll get a couple of cool temporary powers," said Chip.

"Like what?" asked Mina, her optics turning blue again.

"Uh...missile launchers, laser vision, heck, maybe you can turn into a more humanoid robot mode. Though I wouldn't count on the last one."

Mina looked thoughtful at that, at least as far as her remaining eye indicated before she winced, the metal covering the rest of her back and her tail, a nasty mini chainsaw appearing at the tip. "Er, see? Chainsaw tail, that's, uh, that's pretty cool," said Chip.

Mina was whimpering however, which was bad as Chip could hear Mantichrome coming back. "Er, Mina, you think you can act like a robot again?" asked Chip.

"I don't want a chainsaw tail, don't want it," gibbered Mina.

Chip sighed sadly, clearly seeing that Mina was not gonna calm down on her own. "Sorry about this," he said before grabbing the back of her head again.

...

Mantichrome stomped in angrily. His droids on the perimeter were going dark, meaning Matt was on his way. Still, he had one valuable droid that he collected and he was not going to let it go to waste.

"Mina, my dear, it's time to put you to use," he said, looking at the now fully-converted dragoness.

"I am yours to command," said Mina in a hollow tone.

"Very good, I want you to go out and obliterate the half dragon and his companions," said Mantichrome happily.

"Your command shall be carried out once I've finished calibrating my new weaponry," said Mina.

"Mantichrome looked confused before he snapped, "CALIBRATE IT ON THEM! NOW OBEY ME!"

"Complying..." said Mina, though her optics were flashing like a loading icon.

"Now go, destroy them, and provide a good show for Chip," sneered Mantichrome.

"Put on a show," repeated Mina before marching out.

Mantichrome grinned, looking at Chip. "What have you got to say now?" he said smugly.

"You're just setting yourself up for another big disappointment, yet again," said Chip nonchalantly.

Mantichrome snapped "CHIIIIII-" before freezing in place.

"This'll never get old," said Chip happily

Yvonne's voice played, "Oh, Jeffrey, can you and your other personalities still love me, even knowing what I am?"

"Of course, my dear," said Jeffrey's voice, "None of us care about what you are. Except for Oscar, but no one pays any attention to him."

"Oh, I'm so... Wait, who's Oscar?"

"Oh, right, you haven't met him yet."

...

"Ok, it's a simple plan, guys: we go in, wreck what needs wrecking, and tear Manti's head off and play football with it till he says where Chip and Mina are," said Matt, in a seemingly angry voice

"Sounds good to me," said Draco, "Any questions?"

Contrinus raised her wing and asked, "How did Mantichrome get a factory out here?"

The others looked puzzled before Matt shook his head. "That doesn't matter, we just smash it," he growled.

"So how are we supposed to get in?" asked Elora, "There are robots everywhere."

"I'll show you how," growled Matt, peeling off.

"No, he wouldn't…" groaned Contrinus before Matt spat a huge plasma ball at the main factory doors.

"Matt isn't very well known for his subtlety," said Draco, "In fact, he's famous for his lack of it."

Contrinus nodded. "On the plus side, Mantichrome's got nothing that can take him-" she said before Matt came backwards out the hole on a pair of blue laser beam blasts.

"Is that typical?" asked Elora.

"No, it is not," said Contrinus with worry.

A mechanical dragon leapt out of the hole, firing again as Matt tried to get up. "Ok, so Mantichrome's made a new line of drone," said Draco, "Seems rather small for a...uh oh." The 'drone' turned to look at them, looking how Draco would imagine Mina would look. "Oh boy," he whimpered before two eye beams tagged him.

"Is that who I think that is?" asked Elora.

"Er, I'm sure we can reach the real Mina that's under that metal shell," said Contrinus nervously.

'Mina' however had now turned her attention to Contrinus. Mina spread her metal wings and flapped them hard. However, she only got a few inches off the ground.

"Oh, good, she's too heavy for her wings now," said Contrinus before flying up, "All I have to do is outspeed her until she tires out."

Mina seemed to realize this too, landing and leaving her wings outspread as two small boosters unfolded. "Erm...Contrinus?" said Elora, pointing.

"Yes, I see them," said Contrinus with resignation.

Mina immediately took to the sky, several knives extending from her paws as she came after them.

"Still think we can outfly her?" asked Elora.

"Not so sure, but do I have a choice?" said Contrinus.

"Cease your evasive actions," intoned Mina coldly

"Oh, like she would really expect me to obey that," said Contrinus.

...

Mantichrome, who thanks to Whipsting, was now able to talk again, laughed as Contrinus had to dodge a nasty slash. "Oh, who says you can't get anything good on the TV?" he laughed, Chip looking crestfallen.

Just then, Mantichrome got a call on his communicator. He went over to another monitor and patched it through, showing Ghoulwyrm's face. "Mantichrome, how goes the deforestation?" asked Ghoulwyrm.

"Fine...and my little nanovirus worked a treat. I even managed to test it on a Avalarian," said Mantichrome happily.

"An Avalarian?" asked Ghoulwyrm, "Is it working properly?"

"See for yourself," said Mantichrome, patching Ghoulwyrm's monitor to show the fight outside.

Ghoulwyrm could be seen fiddling on his end to get the feed before he smirked, "Very nice, that one seems familiar. Who is she?" he asked.

"This is Lumina, daughter of Spyro and Cynder," said Mantichrome smugly, expecting Ghoulwyrm to be very pleased with this.

"Mantichrome...YOU IMBECILE!" roared Ghoulwyrm, Mantichrome's torso suddenly sparking in a way that was quite different from his earlier fits.

"But...but..." he began as Ghoulwyrm snapped "I have plans for her! You'd better hope they find a way to reverse your little cybercold or I will tear your CPU out!" before a purple fireball engulfed the feed and it went dead.

Mantichrome did not take that well. "It's not fair! It's not fair!" he cried, "I was actually winning! I was winning! I had the perfect attack droid and now I have to give it up!"

"It could be worse. Matt might have gotten to you first," said Chip, for once feeling a tiny bit sorry for Mantichrome.

Mantichrome turned and snapped at Chip, "Don't say that! That's just an open invitation for him to-" He was cut off by one of the walls blowing open.

A clawed hand peeled away the rest to reveal Matt, in his 'Aztec dragon' form, snarling angrily. "Someone's been a bad robot," he snarled.

"It just had to be Lynch! It just had to be-" Mantichrome's anguish was cut short as the stress caused him to have another fit.

"You know Yvonne, since you're a shapeshifter, you can make a couple of improvements to your form," said Jeffrey's voice.

"Ooh, do you and your other personalities have some suggestions?" asked Yvonne's voice.

"We wrote them down, ignore Oscar's."

"Ooh, you naughty, naughty boys..." There was soon the sound of much kissing and moaning.

Matt actually paused at this before looking at Chip, questionably. Chip shrugged and said, "I think he's taken a bit too much punishment to his processing network lately. He's been like that all day. You wanna leave him like this? He's lost anyways since Ghoulwyrm ordered him to undo Mina's conversion."

"What? That thing out there's Mina?" snapped Matt before chomping Mantichrome before Chip could stop him and tossing him out the hole.

"Matt, I need some info about his nanovirus to work on the reversal procedure," said Chip. Matt however wasn't listening, already going to town on the struggling and now-very awake Mantichrome. "Matt! Matt! We need his head in one piece at least!" yelled Chip.

Matt seemed to snap out of it a little at that, spitting the aforementioned head at Chip. Chip held up Mantichrome's head which didn't seem in the moment anymore, judging by the spinning optics and the creepy childlike laughter coming out of his mouth. Chip winced as he saw that Matt was tearing the rest of Mantichrome to shreds

"Matt, I think you need to stop and take a long look at yourself," said Chip.

Matt spat out the piece of metal in his mouth and snapped, "I don't have time for stupid philosophy crap!"

"No, really, take a good look at yourself," said Chip, holding up a reflective sheet of metal in front of Matt.

Matt paused as he saw his face, the same one from El Dorado, before he dropped what was left of Mantichrome and backed up a bit. "I think if you think back on how you've been acting lately, this shouldn't be that big a surprise," said Chip calmly.

Matt growled again at that, before going back to attacking Mantichrome...and dodging a laser bolt from the returning Mecha-Mina.

"Ok, Mina, show's over. You can flip your emotions back on now," said Chip. Mina didn't respond to that, instead firing at Matt again. "Oh, I guess I need to flip them back on for her," said Chip.

Matt glared at that. "Flip what?" he snapped angrily.

"Er, I broke her obedience programming before, but she was freaking out too much to act like she was still a droid so I, uh, temporarily suppressed her emotions," said Chip.

"You WHAT?" snapped Matt, blocking several laser bolts with a plasma shield.

"I can switch them back on, I just need to get close enough to her," said Chip.

Matt growled before grabbing Chip and throwing him at Mina. Instead, Chip missed Mina and ended up buried to his arms in the ceiling above. "Ok, this is not to our advantage," said Chip dryly.

Mina turned to look at Chip, before Mantichrome's head said angrily "Blast them! Blast them all!"

"You keep out of this!" snapped Matt before Mina rocket-boosted into Matt's side.

Contrinus and Elora finally managed to get in at that to see this. "Mina, stop!" called Contrinus, wincing as Mina rocket-slammed Matt again.

"Well, at least the monster has been stopped," said Elora, eyeing Mantichrome's mangled body.

"Excuse me, can I get a little help please?" called Chip. Contrinus nodded, flying up to pull Chip loose as Matt tried to stop Mina as she was blasting him.

Chip was pulled loose pretty quickly, though he slipped out of Contrinus's grip and fell to the floor. "Ow!" yelled Mantichrome, on whose head Chip has landed.

Chip held up Mantichrome's head and said, "I think I have an idea."

"You wouldn't dare," said Mantichrome, suddenly getting a horrible feeling of Chip's plan...

...

Mina circled the target, the dragon that had mauled her master to a useless head. He was proving resilient but was wearing down quickly.

Just then, Mantichrome's voice said, "Lumina, I am ordering you to stand down. Reassert your dormant personality programming."

Mina paused, something about the commander's voice was off, causing her to turn and see Mantichrome's head poking out from a semi-open crate.

"Well don't just stand there. Finish him off al-" snapped Mantichrome before his head sparked with indigo electricity and he said, "Override code initiate. Lumina, stand down and reassert personality programming."

Mina flew down at that before peering closely and saying, "Hack detected, your codes are no longer valid." opening her mouth to reveal a waiting plasma blast.

"I hate you, Chip," snapped Mantichrome. A few seconds before Mina's attack hit, Mantichrome's head jerked and suddenly his mouth opened and operatic music started pouring out of it. Then the blast hit him and he was sent through the wall.

Mina, satisfied, leaned in and tore the crate open to reveal Chip, who waved nervously before grabbing her face. A jolt of indigo energy and Chip said, "Ok, Mina's back under control of herself and I have Mantichrome's nanovirus formula so everything should be alright now."

Matt however seemed to be having a fit. "Erm, what does 'psychotic breakdown' mean?" asked Mina dizzily, the words flashing in her vision.

"When Matt's involved?" said Contrinus before dodging one of the plasma orbs that Matt started throwing around everywhere, "It means 'hit the deck'."

"Matt, get a damn grip!" snapped Draco before Matt did just that...he grabbed Draco. "Not what I meant…" rasped Draco.

After Draco was flung aside, Chip said, "Well, I'd normally say leave Matt to demolish the place on his own. But considering he's in full Blood Plasma mode..." He had to pause and duck a plasma orb, "We need to calm him down quick."

Mina nodded. "Tell me you have a plan. I don't wanna be smashed by my psycho godfather," she whimpered.

"Actually, I think I know what to do," said Elora before darting forward. Matt notice her coming and spat several blasts about them. Demonstrating finely tuned reflexes, Elora skirted and dodged around each blast, getting progressively closer to Matt. When she was in range, Matt reared up to slash at her with his claws. But Elora jumped up, grabbed onto Matt's neck with her legs, and gave him a big kiss on the lips. Matt froze in shock before Elora pulled back and said seductively, "So, handsome, how about I help you relieve all that big stress?"

Matt stared as he got the look he usually got when parts of his brain were melting before he fainted.

"Er, good work, Elora," said Contrinus, who had covered Mina's optics.

"You think he'll be in a better mood to play after he wakes up?" asked Elora, still sounding frisky.

"He already has a mate!" snapped Draco and Contrinus.

"Really? Oh, poo. I thought I'd get one last hurrah before my metamorphosis kicks in," said Elora, sounding disappointed.

"Er, did I miss something?" asked Chip.

"Elora hit on Matt and gave him a heart attack," said Contrinus dully.

"Oh, what was that about a metamorphosis?" asked Chip.

"Fauns are actually centaur teenagers until they grow their new legs," said Draco, "Did you really need to flirt with him like that?"

"All fauns do it," said Elora, "We can't have children until we get our wisdom feet so we get as much experience as we can before that."

"Well...that explains why fauns are so...promiscuous in classical art," said Chip warily before looking thoughtful and saying, "I wonder if anyone has done a study on this? There ought to be fascinating scientific texts about the developmental stages of centaurs..."

Contrinus snapped, "Not in front of Mina!"

"Uh, can I get my flesh back now?" asked Mina.

...

To say that Spyro and Cynder were shocked had been an understatement. Chips counternanites would take a day or two to get to work so until then...

"Moooom...I've got an armor-plated hide, I don't need to be in my nest all day," complained Mina.

"I don't care! You shouldn't have gone with them and they shouldn't have let you!" Cynder said, snapping the last part at Draco and Chip.

"Hey, I didn't ask Elora to bring her along," said Draco, "That teleportation spell of her was not that exclusive."

"Besides, it could have ended up worse if she wasn't there," said Chip, "Mantichrome was more than ready to throw in the towel once he had to give up Mina."

"Who's Mantichrome?" growled Cynder, glaring at Chip angrily.

"Hasn't Matt told you of him yet?" asked Chip, sounding surprised, "I would have thought he'd spend most of his time bragging about the various villains he's beaten." A snap from Cynder caused Chip to yelp.

"Mantichrome's not a problem now," said Draco, "It's gonna take him weeks to get himself back in order, particularly his scrambled processor."

Cynder seemed to calm down at that before Mina asked, "Can I go see how my godfather's doing? I beat him up pretty bad." trying the puppy dog look, which was nigh impossible when you have optics for eyes.

"He's at a meeting right now," said Cynder before turning to Draco and Chip and asking, "Shouldn't you be at that meeting?"

"We've been trying to wrap this up for the last five minutes," said Chip with annoyance.

Mina just pouted at that, somehow still looking cute in metal as Draco and Chip turned to go. "Couple of days and she'll start to shed that covering," he said.

"And tell Spyro to stop denying that his daughter's currently metal, it's getting creepy," said Draco.

...

Matt was currently at that point giving Spyro the evil eye, the incident in Fractured Forest having been council-worthy.

Cyril was currently looking over the report on the incident, "Apathy towards the suffering of others, wanton and unnecessary destruction, a lack of hesitation towards attacking allies, my, it sounds rather sociopathic."

Matt said "Look, I've explained about my run in with..." before Zara made a scoffing noise. "Please, if such a clan existed they would be in the Warfang records."

"Yes they should, back during the First War of Warfang and there's earlier records regarding the Sun Clan they were derived from," said Matt.

"I'm afraid that documents regarding the time periods including and preceding the primary conflict with Malefor has been subject to improper placement to the point where most texts are unfindable and many that had been properly sorted have suffered collateral damage to the point of illegibility," said Volteer.

"They were incinerated when Warfang got bombed, weren't they?" said Matt blankly.

"Unfortunately," said Volteer.

"What about the Atlantean archives?" asked Matt.

"Still being deciphered," said one of the Atlantean representatives, "We've had more pressing matters to attend to than looking through the old records."

Matt glared at that. "I think wrongful accusations are more important," he began before his comm beeped, WARDEN calling. "Not now, you jumped up laptop," he hissed.

"Sir, I have been trying to get your attention for the past several hours," said WARDEN calmly.

"Can't you see that I'm facing a court martial which I'm about to lose because I can't show them the plasma dragon family tree?" snapped Matt.

WARDEN said calmly, "You mean the mission files? Your nanites continued to follow mission log protocols throughout that entire escapade, it should suffice. Which reminds me, Xander, how is the plasma dragon colony fairing?" asked WARDEN.

"What plasma dragon colony?! Why didn't you tell me?!" demanded Zara.

"It's the subject of that meeting you keep pushing back," said Xander in a calm voice though with a wry smile.

Zara snorted angrily at that before saying, "Well...it seems you are exonerated again, human."

"However, considering the volatility of your...condition, I believe that therapeutic treatment is required before Capt. Lynch is fit to command again," said one of the Atlantean councilmembers, "All in favor?"

Matt just hung his head as the inevitable unanimous 'ayes' were heard. "Et tu, Spyro?" he groaned

"It'll only be for a little while," said Spyro, "I'm sure you'll be given a clean bill of health in no time."

"Not a chance," said Zara gleefully.

Matt turned to her and said, "You know, you're not an actual councilmember, you don't have to be here."

"I'm still a guardian and this is a minor enough matter to not exclude me," said Zara smugly.

"I hate you," said Matt dully, Zara grinning "The feeling is mutual, human."

...

Matt walked out of the council chambers to see Chloe, Draco, and Chip waiting for him. "Sorry we took so long," said Chip, "Cynder was pretty hard to console."

"Not to mention someone had to stop and get a bite to eat," said Draco, as Morph tottered into view with a drumstick that looked like it could have come off an ostrich.

"So...how did it go?" asked Morph, only to be flattened into a disk. "That bad?" he rasped.

"They said I need to take therapy before I can be allowed to captain my ship again," snapped Matt sourly.

"Ouch, you are probably pretty angry, right?" said Draco carefully.

"Gee, what gave you that impression?!" snapped Matt.

"Look, all you need to do is fake it until the tests are done and then you can go back to yelling out people for no reason," said Chloe a little sarcastically.

"Since you are currently not in command of anything at the moment, may I finally be allowed to address that which I have been trying to tell you for quite some time?" asked WARDEN.

"Fine, blab," snapped Matt angrily.

"Very well then. My intent was to give you my two weeks' notice, but since you've been pushing off my announcement, it is actually a five days' notice. I'll stepping down from your ship's AI," said WARDEN.

"Wait, you can't do that. My calculator doesn't resign. The coffee maker doesn't go on strike!" snapped Matt.

"Yeah, who's gonna tell me not to do stuff because I'm not smart enough?" asked Morph.

Chloe glared at that, snapping, "We all tell you that every single day."

"Oh, sure when it's convenient for you," said Morph dismissively.

"Either way, I am requesting re-installment on another ship," said WARDEN calmly.

"But our ship needs an AI," protested Draco, "To handle all the...high-tech...maintenance...stuff."

"I have a replacement in mind. She arrived on a merchant ship several days ago," said WARDEN calmly.

"I'm not so sure about having a new AI taking over," said Chloe.

"She'll be having a trial period of course, to get used to work with you," said WARDEN, "I am confident she'll be an adequate replacement."

"But WARDEN, why would you want to change ships in the first place?" asked Chip.

"Because you're all psychotic, stupid or both," said WARDEN calmly, Chip unable to give an adequate argument

"So where is she?" snapped Matt.

"I wouldn't meet her until you've gotten some degree of control over your temper," said WARDEN, "Wouldn't want to make a bad first impression."

"WARDEN!" yelled Matt, causing the AI to sigh.

"She's at the docks, overseeing the refit of the new ship."

"Fine, I'm gonna go down to see who's joining up and I don't care what mood they see me in!" snapped Matt before changing forms and flying off, his blood plasma coloring still evident

"We'd better follow," began Chip before WARDEN said "Maybe not. This AI actually requested the assignment after I made it clear there was a vacancy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Draco.

"It means that she knows him." said WARDEN darkly.

...

Matt's aggression didn't show much sign of letting up. He shoved everyone that was in his way aside without even stopping to apologize. All that was on his mind was finding out who was replacing his AI. He landed, shifting to anthro form, several troopers turning and stepping aside.

"Only interrupt if it looks like someone might be killed," growled Matt as he walked into the hangar.

A woman was looking at several controls, overseeing an Atlantean tech. "Ok, you need to...oh," she said, turning to look and causing Matt to pause.

The woman was of African descent, her hair up in a professional bun. She would have looked like a normal human except that her eyes were clearly cybernetic optics until she adjusted her glasses and they appeared normal. "Captain Lynch," she said calmly, "It's been quite some time. I see you've been through a few changes as well."

"Aria. They tossed you out?" Matt said.

"Not precisely," said Aria, "There has been... a division in between where our respective goals led. So I decided to leave first before things became too...heated later."

"You legged it before they could delete you," said Matt dully.

"Or reprogram me," said Aria.

"Ouch...at least you're not reprogrammed," said Matt casually, Aria a little surprised from how he shrugged it off.

"Yes, and I got away with our latest model of adaptation droid," said Aria as she lifted its arms which seemed to flip into a metal version of itself before changing back. "Based on some Cybertronian data from your last trip to that sector, the pseudoskin is nigh-invulnerable and it's capable of mimicking the most common functions of a woman of my apparent age."

Matt lifted his eye ridges and said, "Any function, eh?"

Aria gave him an annoyed look and said, "Really? You had to jump straight to that?"

"Sorry, it's a basic guy rule," said Matt, Look, you do know why WARDEN apparently quit?"

"Job dissatisfaction," said Aria, "Apparently being lost on a pre-Columbian era planet had made a bad impression on him."

"Could be worse, the animals could have talked back," said Matt smugly.

"I understand you travel with even stranger creatures these day, in addition to becoming one yourself," said Aria.

"Great, makes you perfect for the job. Welcome aboard," said Matt.

"Well, I'm not officially part of the crew yet. First I need to go through the trial period to see if I am compatible with your crew," said Aria, "Also, I've heard something about you not being currently in command over...anger issue?"

"That's rubbish. I haven't got anger issues," said Matt, Aria nodding, counting inwardly before Matt snapped "...and I'll bite the heads off anyone who disagrees."

Aria gave a happy sigh and said, "Just like the good old days."

* * *

There's another chapter and with it, introducing two characters from the old Spyro games: Moneybags and Elora. I would like to think I've kept pretty well to Moneybags' original character, though I did pattern him after J.H. Slick from the Jumanji cartoon, so yes, he'd be voiced by Tim Curry. Elora, I got a bit more creative with. A little fun fact that is that she was originally supposed to be a centaur but the designers decided she'd be cuter with two legs instead four. This is sort of a bridging between the two concepts, along with a little creativity regarding the natures of fauns and centaurs. Mantichrome's behavior from his damaged processor is also based on a villain from another Insomniac games series, but I don't think I need to tell you which one.

Aria is from an earlier story by my co-author, which you might not find on this site. Inquire to him about where you can find it.

Anyhow, things are going to be taking a more serious turn with the story for a while, particularly with Matt's plasma dragon nature. That part is still under construction so it might be a while before the next chapter is up. Until then, please review.


	5. Retracing Bloodlines pt 1

**Voyagers Saga**

**The Sundered World**

**Chapter 5: Retracing Bloodlines pt. 1**

Installing a new AI into a ship isn't quite the same as updating simpler computers. For one thing, an AI can think for itself and has to actively learn how its new ship will work. Another it has to do is familiarize itself with the crew.

"Urgh, at least it's spacier then the Skyraid ever was," complained Aria, causing the human crew to groan. Another problem was that the AI tended to complain if it was from an older ship

"Look, we didn't pick for its features. It was buried in an iceberg for crying out loud," said Chloe, trying to keep calm and not doing so well.

"Huh...it's antiquated, like your tastes. You certain you aren't an evil clone?" said Aria.

"For the last...time...I have been captured by the Empire but I've been freed. I am 100% sure I'm the genuine article," said Chloe through gritted teeth.

"I'd still feel better if you gave a DNA sample..." began Aria .

"But if she was a clone, how would there be a DNA difference?" pointed out Chris.

"I know what I'm looking for," said Aria before a crash was heard from the cafeteria, "Ah, the captain's up."

"So to speak," said Chris.

"His rage seems due to a lack of bagels," said Aria calmly .

"Techo, you were supposed to resupply the pantry!" snapped Chloe.

"No I wasn't, that was Kala," said Techo.

"Er, I've been having trouble finding a shop that accepts my money," said Kala.

"If I may, my psyche scans indicate he seems unusually angry. I also noticed several internal memos regarding this in the Atlantean database," said Aria casually .

"So Matt's been angrier than usual, big deal," said Kala, "I personally blame Keenai. Spending too much time with her is bound to wear away anyone's temper."

Aria sighed, an image of the heavily bandaged Keenai before saying, "There is no way she could be responsible in her current state. Nor could she be annoying enough when healthy. Otherwise the one called Morph would cause this level of rage every second of every day."

"True that," said Chloe, "Getting to the root of that anger is not going to be easy. Someday we'll recruit a therapist into this crew."

Aria's hologram avatar smirked at that, "Name one therapist who would survive long enough."

"Even truer that," said Chloe, "Well, what's the next best thing?"

"We find a therapist on this world. That way we can leave quickly if Mr. Lynch does drive the poor soul mad," said Aria calmly .

"Unfortunately, there are no established therapists here yet," said Techo, "I checked. There's an anger management group though."

"Good enough...and it'll provide entertainment too," said Aria .

"This ought to go as well as the Constructicons' EARWAX session," said Chris.

"Indeed, I'll get some snacks," said Chloe.

To say that Matt had been unhappy to be sent to anger management was probably the understatement of the century if the accusation of treason to his fellow crewmen had been any indication. Still, it's said that misery loves company so NegaMorph was sent along. Or maybe he was just there to make sure Matt didn't flip out. Or maybe he just wanted to a front row seat.

"I dunno why I'm needed here. I don't need to see anger management," sulked Matt .

"Half a dozen smashed kitchen appliances say differently," teased NegaMorph.

"SILENCE!" screamed Matt, blasting NegaMorph, the therapist and a grey-tinged and definitely old earth dragoness sighing.

Ember, who was also attending, gave a sigh and said, "I knew it was only a matter of time."

"Very well, let's all talk about ourselves," said the therapist in a calm tone, looking at everyone in turn

The earth dragoness said, "My name is Fossilia and I've been having trouble controlling my temper because all the blasted young ones are growing louder and ruder every year."

Ember said in a tone that the untrained would call calm, "I don't even know why I'm here."

"From what I've been told, you seem to have developed a lot of stress after your child was hatched," said the therapist, who happened to be another earth dragoness.

"Considering how much that kid likes to chew on people, I'm not surprised," said Matt rudely.

Ember snapped, "DON'T YOU TALK ABOUT HIM THAT WAY! He'll grow out of it..." causing Matt to hide under his chair in terror .

NegaMorph shrugged and said, "I'm mostly here to watch Matt."

"I've been told you also have some issues," said the therapist.

"Issues? Why would I have issues? I'm only a twisted sin of genetic experimentation that's feared and hated by most on sight and get constantly confused for a demon," said NegaMorph sarcastically.

"Indeed, why don't you tell us about that," said the dragoness.

"There's not that much to tell. I was abused for the services of an evil empire and...wait, why am I telling you this? I'm not the one sent to therapy, he is," said NegaMorph, pointing at Matt.

The dragoness nodded, "In due time..." Matt slowly counted to 10 while the therapist said, "So how does that make you feel?"

"Well, a little miffed really," said NegaMorph.

"And does being miffed make you feel?" asked the therapist.

"I just told you that," said NegaMorph, sounding annoyed.

"And how does telling me that make you feel?"

"Will you cut it out?" snapped NegaMorph.

"And how does telling me to cut it out make you feel?"

"That's it, I can't take this baloney fest anymore. I'll be back to pick up Matt after he wrecks the place," snapped NegaMorph before stomping out the door.

Matt stared before the therapist said calmly, "Now he's gone, let's talk to you, Mr. Lynch. It's rare that a Shar-Khan graces therapy. Why are you here?"

"Because everyone's been telling me I have 'anger issues' and being 'anti-social', which is a complete crock," said Matt.

"Really? So how do you feel right now?" asked the therapist .

"More than a little irritated," snapped Matt.

"Really? Why is that?" asked the therapist .

"Because everyone is getting on my case," snapped Matt.

"Everyone...on...his...case," said the dragoness to herself, the fact she was effortlessly scratching the words into some solid granite that was her 'clipboard' putting Matt off attacking her in blind rage . "So tell me, what do you think is making other think you as 'anti-social'?" asked the therapist.

"NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" sapped Matt before going wide-eyed from shock as the therapist calmly write that down too .

"Now, the first step to solving any problem is admitting there is one," said the therapist, "So tell me what you see is the problem."

"I DON'T CARE!" roared Matt, shifting to his dragon form, the therapist raising an eyeridge before calmly causing the floor to sandwich him till he stopped moving and talking in coherent sentences.

"Ok, can anyone tell us what he did wrong?" she asked, noticing her other patients trying to hide behind each other .

"Well, I have to admit, I was expecting a lot worse," said Chloe as she read about Matt's results.

"Indeed, he needs desperate treatment that I am afraid is beyond me," said the therapist calmly .

"You know, I've heard there are planets that are dedicated to the treatment of the mentally ill," said Chip, "Perhaps we could have Matt admitted."

Chloe sighed. "Tempting as that is, he'd destroy the planet just to get out," she said .

"If we knew the root of the problem, it would be easier to treat," said the therapist.

"The root is that some freak dragoness put a mind kibosh on him," said Draco, earning glares .

"Can you please elaborate on that?" asked the therapist professionally.

"Some plasma dragoness messed with his mind so she could hook up with him," said Chloe, glaring daggers at Draco, "It was _supposed_ to say under wraps."

"Well, considering her spell is springing back up, I think it's important we should talk about it," said Draco.

The therapist nodded as she wrote and asked, "So who would this plasma dragoness be? I don't think I've seen another plasma dragon besides Matthew."

"Does it matter? We kept what we could find of her in that jar over there," said Techo, pointing to a jar that caused the therapist to take her turn to stare .

"She really deserved it, trust me," said Chip.

"Well, that's hard. What spells I know that cause this need to be reversed by the caster or one of their bloodline," said the therapist sternly .

There was a lengthy pause before Draco said, "Maybe one of the plasma dragons in the colony could do it. Those Aztec dragons were very closely related."

"Maybe...where are they?" said Chloe calmly .

"I thought you knew," said Draco.

"No I didn't, Cydra just dumped them somewhere," snapped Chloe .

"He dumped them here," said Chip, "If you ever read memos, Morgan would have let you know they've established a distant colony for them until they're more ready to integrate into dragon society. Or until Matt because their patriarch as he was destined to be. Whichever comes first, probably the latter."

"Where are they?" growled Chloe, her eyes getting a blue glow.

"Hang on, let me contact Morgan," said Chip as he got on the communicator.

Chloe glared, slowly shifting into a hybrid form that the therapist noticed. "It seems they tried to add you too," she said calmly.

"What?" asked Chloe before glancing at herself, noticing blue stripes on her yellow scales.

"A half way attempt, but it happened plenty of times during their little war," said the therapist .

"Wait, they had a war?" asked Draco.

"Yes, why do you think they were exiled?" said the therapist scolding .

"Are we talking about the sun dragons or the plasma dragons?" said Draco, "I think I fell asleep during the history lesson."

"Both, the sun dragons are the descendants of the plasma dragons," said the therapist, calming down a little .

"But the plasma dragons were developed by the Atlanteans," said Chip.

"Apparently when the Atlanteans had to hand over the unhatched eggs, some of the dragons fought back. Or maybe that was before, I don't know," said Chloe, who was rubbing at her stripes.

"Hmm...it seems some race memories have come out," said the therapist thoughtfully .

"You mean the inherent egomaniacal bloodthirst?" asked Chip dryly.

"No, her temper," said the therapist as Chloe span round and punted Chip out the room via the wall.

"That's not really much different than normal," said Draco as he grounded himself.

Chloe glared before snapping "SO WHERE ARE THEY?!"

"Morgan's...gonna give us...a lift..." groaned Chip from the next room.

The flight to the colony was pretty uneventful, though they had to pass over the remains of the apes' country. From above, it was obvious why the apes were so envious of the dragons, considering their country was a barren wasteland. "Are any of the apes still alive or are they all skeletons?" asked Matt.

"Nobody's checked. We have to fly transports this high cause of the sandstorms," said Morgan .

"The ape skeletons haven't be causing much trouble, have they?" asked Matt.

"No, as a matter of fact, after Malefor's final defeat, all unnatural creatures given life by him all ceased to exist and the cursed apes haven't been seen since," said Morgan.

"That's a relief," said Matt.

"Though there are rumors that they have collected into some mass graveyard deep in the caverns and anyone who sets foot there is stripped of life and flesh and joins their countless bones. As you can imagine, there aren't any who are willing to look for it," added Morgan.

"I can understand that," whimpered Matt .

"Anyways, if there were any apes left alive, you can bet anything that the last thing the dragons would want to do is make peace with them," said Morgan.

"Yeah...seems a little unfair though. Most of the people down there weren't fighters," said Matt, remembering his brief visit to the ape city.

"Nothing holds a grudge longer than a dragon," said Morgan simply. Matt thought about this before shrugging in agreement

"Anyways, you have more important bridges to build," said Morgan, "The council has to be sure you're not the blood knight they think you are and they need to believe that the plasma dragons are not yet another race to be shunned by their society. I don't put a whole lot of fate into prophecies and predestination, but learning to be a father figure to these dragons is definitely what you need. There's nothing like parenthood to teach you about leadership. Or humility."

"Wait, what? I was told I was getting this blood stuff out," said Matt, in a worried voice.

"Well, yes, but that's not truly the main reason I'm bringing you here," said Morgan, "You'd refuse if it was anything else."

"Ok, I'm already too far here, so what's the real plan?" said Matt icily .

"Well, it's simple, you need to get the plasma dragons to accept you as their leader. Not by force, not by threats, but by their earned trust," said Morgan, "You need to set a good example for them."

"You have met me, right?" said Matt blankly

"I've _trained_ you, more importantly," said Morgan, "You'll admittedly have a better chance once you've gotten your temper and ego under control. But I've yet to see anything that shows you are incapable of improving your character."

"I killed their last leader," snapped Matt .

"No, that was Chloe, you killed his daughter," said Morgan.

"Yes, cause that's so much better," said Matt dully .

"From what I've heard, those two _had_ to be destroyed. But more importantly, these dragons are mostly oblivious about them. You just need to show them why you're a better leader," said Morgan. Matt raised an eyebrow at that, Morgan sighing, "We may need to make more than one trip."

"Yeah, let's just focus on finding Xipe Totec's closest kin," said Matt.

"Coming in to land, sir. Three targets headed our way," said the pilot .

"Remember, first impression is most important," said Morgan, "Some dragons don't let you have another chance." Matt looked confused before Morgan said, "Now remember...think like a dragon." before he pressed a button and the hatch Matt was on opened.

Matt yelped and dropped before his reflexes kicked in and he morphed into full dragon form and opened his wings. Several plasma dragons were already homing in, one spitting a blast at him.

Matt dodged that before shooting out a plasma bomb that exploded above the dragons. The dragons paused in place at that, one glaring and saying "You dare?"

Matt's uncertainly was quickly replaced by 'righteous' indignation. "Of course I dare, I am your leader!" he snapped.

The dragons looked at each other before they all blasted him, one saying, "No you're not."

Matt coughing out a smoke ring and rasping, "Am so."

"You're an outsider, an impure dragon," said another dragon.

"I am not...well...not much," snapped Matt .

One of the other dragons gave a contempt snort and said, "He's not worthy to be our leader. He's not even worthy enough to be in our pack."

A plasma blast hit the dragon in the face at that, sending him spinning away. Matt smirked and said, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"One cheap shot does not a leader make," said another dragon, "If you want to prove you're worthy, you do it our way."

"Fine, lead the way," snapped Matt .

The others watched as Matt flew off with the other plasma dragons. "Well, I think that's a good start," said Chloe.

Morgan sighed and said, "It would have been better if he managed to talk them down, but that's too much to hope for." He turned to the pilot and said, "Take us down to the facility. We might as well check up with the rest of the staff."

Aria turned to look at that. "Facility?" she asked accusingly .

"If you had read the files, you would know about it," said Morgan.

"There _are_ no files about it," said Aria meaningfully.

Morgan sighed and said, "The plasma dragons have only arrived less than two, maybe three months ago. Their present demeanor is not ideal for them to be introduced to the rest of dragon society. So we had them relocated to this...convent, you might say, until we're able to school them in proper draconic interaction. We also set up a research facility to study them and learn a bit more about them. The less of an enigma they are, the less the other dragons will distrust them."

"It's disgusting, the sort of thing Executive Genetics would do!" snapped Aria harshly .

"I assure you, we're being no more invasive than primatologists researching gorillas or orangutans," said Morgan. Chloe, Kala, and Aria gave him a disapproving look. "Ok, maybe that wasn't the best analogy. Look, the most we're interfering with them is that we're looking after the hatchlings in the nursery and educating them as they ought to be."

Aria glared and was about to reply before Kala shot through her, causing her hologram to flicker, jumping out the ship down to the facilities landing pad, terrifying several guards who received her yell of "WHERE'S THE NURSERY?"

"Um...that way?" said one of the guards, pointing. Kala gave a squeal of excitement and rushed off in the direction he pointed.

Chloe rolled her eyes as the shuttle landed and she stepped off . "It seems Kala's desire to be a mother is greater than I imagined," said Morgan as he stepped off.

"She's been practicing a lot with Ferno and Mina and she seems pretty eager for Sonya and Smoldron's egg to hatch, even though I'm the actual godmother," said Chloe.

"Pardon me if I'm being too inquisitive, but when you were informed about the Shar-Ekta fertility lock, you seemed to be the one least fazed," said Morgan, "You haven't shown much concern for it afterwards. Doesn't it bother you at all?"

Chloe seemed to slip at that, her knee ending up in a painful place between Morgan's legs. "I'll...take that...as a yes," he rasped .

"Our genetic material was rearranged without our permission, in a very painful fashion I might add," hissed Chloe, "I'm already plenty mad at Alayshia for playing with our DNA like puzzle pieces. Learning he just removed a few features only adds more fuel to the hatred. The only difference between me and Kala is that I'm very good at keeping my feelings inwards. So don't ask me about it again or I'll show you just how dangerous my feelings are if I turn them outwards."

"Very well..." sighed Morgan, a scream heard as a guard obviously tried to stop Kala.

"Should we be worried about her?" asked Morgan.

"If those dragonlings are anything like the ones I've seen, we should be worried _for_ her," said Chloe.

"Ok...I'm guessing you want to know what the backup plan is if he cannot locate a relative," said Morgan calmly .

"That would be important to know," said Chloe.

"Well, you actually helped make such a plan: the device you used to rescue us," said Morgan .

Chloe paused at that. "The gateway? I thought was fried," she said.

"Nope, it was easy to repair and it'll be easier to make it a literal time portal. You managed it by accident. We can do it on purpose," said Morgan .

"I'm not sure how much you Atlanteans dabbled with time travel, but we've long since realized it's something best left alone," said Chloe.

"Well, if this plan goes south, you'll de dabbling again," snapped Morgan .

Chloe sighed and said, "I hope you've figured out precisely where we're supposed to go and who to find. There are too many ways that we could end up changing the future."

"We know exactly where to go..." said Morgan confidently before two guards came in, escorting an angry baby dragoness between them.

"Caught this one in the hold with those experiments," said one.

This particular dragoness was easy to identify by her violet scales and her robotized parts. "Mina, you shouldn't have followed us here," said Chloe sternly.

"We wanted to help. He's my godfather," snapped Mina, trying to get loose. The robotized parts had begun to vanish over the few weeks but she was still more robot then dragoness and it showed as her remaining robot eye blazed red as she tried to get loose .

"Mina, this is a very delicate situation," said Morgan, "If you just rush in, you could ruin it."

"I'm gonna help him," snapped Mina in a final voice .

"You'll help him most by staying out of the way," said Chloe.

Mina glared, sulking before saying, "Still wanna properly help."

"I'm sure we can find something else for you to do," said Morgan before turning to the guard and asking, "What about the experiments?"

"They escaped into the colony. We're prepping a team now," said the guard .

"You know, they're not that much a threat," said Chloe.

"The experiments might not be, but the plasma dragons might be a threat to them," said Morgan.

Mina glared before headbutting the guard on her left, and revealing to the other that one of her shoulder lasers was still present, stunning him before running off after them.

The Atlanteans had picked out a location that the plasma dragons might feel more comfortable with, namely a long-abandoned ruin of a draconic city. Apparently, this place was deserted because the surrounding jungle had become too invasive.

Matt looked around to see several plasma dragons staring from ruins all around, Matt noting that there was no young dragons younger than a teenager present . He had to remind himself that they had most of their memories erased and no longer recalled being worshipped as gods and being fed the flesh and blood of human slaves. Now they were just jerks who needed a lot of lessons in manners.

As Matt came into the main square, one of the more ancient-looking dragons said, "Look, our prince has returned!" Matt froze up at that, dreading what would come next.

"What? Xaroc, that's just a legend," said one of the dragonesses in the square, looking at Matt before saying, "He looks too scrawny anyway."

"It's true...his name...his name..." said the old dragon, his voice trailing off as his memory did the same.

One of his dragons turned to Matt and said, "Ignore him, he lost most of his mind in the Great Erasure."

"Oh...you remember that," said Matt distantly, his memory hoping that was all they remembered .

"All we know is that for some reason, our minds were wiped clean and we were brought from...somewhere to here," said the dragon.

"Ok, that is good, no other memories? I don't seem familiar in any way?" Matt asked desperately.

"I think I would remember a three-legged loser like you," said the dragon. Matt glared at that, his metal and currently clawed hand/foreleg clenching.

"So, you gonna show us why you should be our leader or what?" asked another dragoness.

Matt turned to glare at the dragon, before saying "Come here...come on, come on over...what's your name?" he asked as the smug dragoness came over .

"Dexex," said the dragon smugly, "And what's your name, if you've even earned one?"

Matt tilted his head before his metal fist shot out and clonked Dexex on the jaw, which turned out to be glass given how the dragon's eyes span before Matt lunged at her, sending her sprawling, bashing her head a few times into the floor before, for good measure, he slashed the dragon's left wing membrane at the corner. "I'm the guy in charge...problems?" he said insanely

One of the larger plasma dragons growled and said, "If you think a cheap shot makes you leader, you're sadly mistaken."

"Go get him, Brazix!" called one of the other dragons.

Matt shrugged, his metal fist shooting out to grab the lunging Brazix by the throat before bashing his head into Dexex's, causing a hollow clonk .

"Now, now, people, this isn't the way civilized dragons should be resolving leadership problems." Everyone turned to see a metallic being with one large eyes, six long arms, four crablike legs, and wearing what was apparently an attempt at a shaman outfit.

Matt raised an eyeridge at that. "Oh good grief," he muttered, facepawing as he saw through the disguise .

"I have come to teach the ways of enlightenment and higher thinking, to elevate your minds and help you become acceptable members of society," said the 'shaman', "This dragon shall be your leader in a new age where you will grow past the narrow-minded ways of your ancestors."

A dragoness snapped, "Ah shut up, why have we got to listen to a boring thing like you?"

The shaman said annoyed, "Now look...uh oh." before a plasma blast sent him flying .

Matt tsked and said, "Missionaries, always thinking they know more than they actually do." He turned to Brazix and said, "Now where were we? Oh yes, you were challenging me to prove my leadership abilities."

Brazix was looking terrified while the other dragons were watching before he said desperately. "No...I think I've seen enough." getting several boos as Matt treated him to his finest psycho grin.

Matt turned his grin to the other dragons and asked, "Anyone else want to tell me I can't be big chief?" His grin vanished as he saw every dragon was bowing deeply. "Is that a yes?" he asked .

"All hail the return of the prince!" called Xaroc.

"Hail the prince!" called the other dragons.

Matt's grin came back, though it looked more panicked as Matt's old stage fright came back. "Please stop staring," he said in a tiny voice.

At the research station, the Atlantean guards were watching the footage from the hidden cameras with great amusement. "Reckon he's the boss now?" asked one of them.

"Until he turns chicken and tries to sneak out," said another.

They turned to another monitor and jumped to see Kala screaming soundlessly at the screen before several plasma dragonlings pulled her out of sight, for some reason wearing warpaint on their faces. "Poor girl..." said one of the guards sympathetically .

"Shouldn't you be helping her?" asked Aria, having transferred to the station's computer system.

"She'll be fine. They're probably on a sugar rush and are trying to force feed her the same stuff," said the second guard .

"Isn't it your duty to intervene if the dragons become-" started Aria before the first guard clicked off the sound from the monitor she was on.

"As if women and AIs weren't nosy separately," he said.

"At least you can mute her," said the other.

Aria glared at them before moving to another part of the station and projecting herself at a computer terminal. Chloe was asleep...at least until Aria rather pettily set off the alert sirens in her room. "Stupid pig headed...Atlanteans were supposed to be enlightened," she snapped before Chloe fell from the ceiling where she had transformed to a terrified dragon form and hung from it, via digging her claws in .

Similarly, Chip was stomping towards the station, ripping off the charred remain of his outfit. "Stupid pig-headed dragons, and they consider themselves the 'wisest of beasts'," he snapped, "Why I've never met such a bunch of-"

"Uncouth ruffians who act no better than the ragamuffins of today," Aria continued to gripe, "And when one suggests they act in a more respectable way-"

"They blast, punt, or toss me aside like I'm just a talking doorstop," complained Chip as he walked into the station, coincidentally the same room Aria was in.

"Why am I always having to work with immature, unappreciative imbeciles?!" snapped Aria and Chip at the same time before they paused and turned to look at each other.

Chloe went bug eyed before roaring "SILEEEEEEENCE!"

Aria and Chip both glanced upwards and Aria said, "So I see you share my sentiments about our so-called crew."

"I'm greatly relieved to finally meet someone who shares the same opinion," said Chip, "I don't believe we've formally met. I'm Jumba Jookiba's 629th genetic experiment, most people prefer to call me Chip."

"Finally, someone with an IQ," said Aria, ignoring Chloe snapping "OI!"

Morph's head popped through a hole in the wall and said, "Somebody's annoying Chloe and I wasn't invited?" Chloe's response was to blow Morph up by thinking about it.

"I was not aware she could do that," said Aria.

"Neither did I," said Chip.

Morph regenerated and asked, "Is it me, or does Chloe look blue?"

"No, I'm pretty sure she's irritated right now," said Chip.

"No, I mean actually looks blue," said Morph.

Chloe paused and looked at herself, noticing that the blue stripes on her looked wider than before. Chloe glared before stomping back, snapping "I'm going to go beat my brother stupid." Aria opening her mouth to object before Chloe slammed the door shut .

"Yes, she is normally that hot-tempered," said Chip, "It's probably connected to that leftover plasma magic, but I don't think it's affecting her personality at all. So, you want to go somewhere quieter and have a decent intellectual conversation?"

Aria smiled and said, "By all means." She disappeared into the computer and Chip soon followed.

Morph blinked dully before he asked, "Why did it sound like Chip was talking to himself?"

Draco, meanwhile, had been mistaken for a dragonling by the guards and tossed in with the plasma dragonlings and Mina, who was just as annoyed as him. The two watched as the plasma dragonlings danced wound Kala, who was tied up and hanging from a coat hook. "You know, I get the feeling Kala's regretting her decision," he said .

"And they say that I'm rambunctious," said Mina.

"Yeah...oooh…" said Draco, wincing as one of the dragonlings climbed up Kala and began squeezing what looked like spray cream down her throat .

"Shouldn't we be helping her?" asked Mina.

"Er, I'm not sure we ought to draw too much attention..." said Draco before he bumped into Mina's shoulder and caused a cannon to blast a hole in the wall, which caused everyone's attention to focus on them.

"Uh oh..." said Draco before one of the hatchlings said dully "Let's eat em." and the hatchlings chased the duo out the new door Mina had made .

Draco and Mina quickly, not wanting to see if the little savages could live up to their threats. "Ok, what's one thing that all little dragons be distracted by?" asked Draco desperately.

"Food?" yelped Mina, the two running along the grounds with the cheering horde behind them, a few of the older and more enthusiastic ones spitting harmless plasma balls past them

"Quick, up that tree! Maybe they can't fly yet!" yelled Draco before he and Mina flew up into a tree and climbing quickly to the top.

To their surprise, they found Morph up there, watching Tex Avery cartoons on a large TV. He turned to them and said, "Oh no, I know what you're thinking and you can . This TV is mine."

The dragonlings were at the bottom, looking up before one of them pouted, saying, "No fair."

"Ha, can't get us now, can you?" taunted Draco.

The dragonlings glared before one of them spat a fireball at the bottom on the tree. Morph and Mina glared and said "Way to go." in unison

"We have to stop them burning down the tree. Start dropping things!" cried Mina before grabbing the TV.

"Not the TV!" cried Morph but it was too late. The TV missed the dragonlings but somehow remained intact. The TV despite everything was still playing, the dragonlings turning to look at it, laughing at the cartoon. "Oh, what do you know, TV works on any kid," said Morph cheerfully .

Contrinus flew over and asked, "What are they watching?"

"Tex Avery cartoons," said Morph.

Contrinus looked worried and said, "Er, maybe they shouldn't watch them at that impressionable age."

"Oh, like they could do any harm," said Draco dismissively. Several of the older dragonlings however were still looking.

"Personally, I'm glad NegaMorph didn't come along," said Contrinus, "We already have enough bad influences here."

"What are you, the chairwoman of the PTA?" asked Draco sarcastically.

Contrinus said loftily, "They're barely out the egg. How can you expect to YOUCH!" she snapped as one of the dragonlings chomped her tail.

Morph screamed "THEY'VE TEASTED FEATHERS! FLEE!"

All four of them started panicking, but the dragonlings were naturally more interested in the plasma-based one. So when the four of them fled in different directions, the dragonlings chased after Morph.

The others skidded to a halt before Mina said carefully "Didn't Morgan say that they'd more or less kidnapped the kids?"

"Well, it's more of a daycare really," said Contrinus.

"You think the adults will care?" asked Draco before they started after them.

Matt however was twitching, trying to ignore the new pretty loud voices in his head as the other plasma dragons basically treated him like royalty . It didn't help that his dragon form had almost completely twisted to when he thought he was the Aztec god of fire.

"Ok...happy thoughts, happy thoughts," he muttered to himself before yelping as Dexex, the dragoness who barely half an hour earlier had called him scrawny, came in .

"Now that you're our king, isn't time you picked a queen?" she asked.

Matt twitched at that before saying, "I already have someone in mind and she'll probably gut me if I go behind her back."

"Oh, where is she?" asked Dexex, "Surely she must be the finest plasma dragoness around."

"She is...up north looking for new lands for us to settle," said Matt quickly .

"Oh, though personally, I don't mind it here that much," said Dexex.

"Oh? That's cool. What's the clan's current views on non-plasma dragons?" Matt asked

"Most of them are wondering what kinds of dragons there are," said Dexex.

"What would they do if they saw one?" asked Matt carefully

"Well, if it was male, they'd probably challenge to a fight. If it was female...I'd rather not repeat what they said," said Dexex.

"Ah...so not good them. You don't have to beat the crap out of any non-plasma dragon you meet," said Matt, getting comfortable .

"But don't we have to assert our dominance?" asked Dexex.

"No...this isn't the dark ages," said Matt a little scolding

"What dark ages?" asked Dexex.

"It means you don't have to beat up other dragons to let them know you're best. We already know we are," said Matt, meaning it as a joke .

"Of course we do and they have to know that," said the dragoness.

"No need, they'll already know," said Matt quickly before turning to be snout to snout with Dexex.

"You know, the king should be able to produce as many heirs as he can," said Dexex.

"Erm...I'm...saving myself," said Matt desperately, backing up.

"But a chief can take as many dragonesses as he likes," saidDexex, "It's one of the perks and why it's challenged for so much."

"I'm choosing not to exercise it OH THANK GOD!" said Matt, saying the next part happily as another dragon came in.

"My lord, it's a miracle," said the dragon jubilantly.

"Of course it is...what are we talking about?" asked Matt.

"Come, you must see," said the dragon, Matt shrugging and following to see several plasma dragons surrounding a few people he knew and about 3 dozen plasma dragonlings that were running around happily .

Matt spotted who was surrounded and groaned. "I might have known," he muttered before heading forward.

Morph, who was floating in the air between two plasma dragons, said "Matt, how's it going?"

"It was going fine until you guys showed up and will presumably derail things," said Matt.

"You know these kidnappers?" snapped a dragon, before they turned to look at Mina. "Look what they did to this inferior dragon?" he snapped, referring to her cybernetics .

"That? She's just recovering from a medical condition. That metal's gonna flake off in a couple of days," said Matt, "And what's this about kidnapping?"

One of the dragoness's snapped, "Our children were taken after the Great Erasure. They were forced to watch torture called 'education'."

Matt rolled his eyes and said, "That's just going to school." When he got a bunch of blank stares, he said, "You guys have no idea what that is, do you?"

"It's black magic! BURN THEM!" yelled one of the dragons, causing Morph to say "YEAH, BURN US...wait a minute...that's bad, isn't it?"  
Matt sighed. "Nothing that stupid's a threat," he said, making a meaningful glare at Mina, Draco and Contrinus.

"Duh...who's stupid?" asked Draco in his best moronic tone.

Contrinus said with a cross-eyed look said, "I see dead people." in a deep voice, causing her guard to step back from her with a wide eyed look while Mina rolled her eyes and said rather unenthusiastically "Dur."

"Hey, is this a dumbness competition? You know you guys can't beat me," said Morph before sticking his tongue up one nostril before feeling around in the other nostril and pulling it out.

"See? Let them go. The dark dragoness is, erm, my adopted daughter," said Matt, desperately aiming for a lie that could be believed .

"Daughter?" asked one of them.

"Yes, you see...her parents are very good friends of mine. They're two of the strongest dragons in the world as a matter of fact. But then an evil sorcerer put a curse on their daughter so she wouldn't be as powerful as they are. And they asked me to care for her until the deadline of the curse rolls past and she'll be safe. Isn't that right, Mina?" asked Matt.

"Papa," she said, hugging Matt.

A few of the plasma dragons, mostly the dragonesses' made 'awww' noises, Matt thinking 'Cynder's gonna kill me.'

Spyro and Cynder had been worried when Mina had vanished again, though had calmed down when Morgan had said how secure the base was and were taking the time to look at the sunset. Suddenly Cynder shook, causing Spyro to look over in concern. "Cynder?" he asked.

Cynder said, "It's ok, for some reason I just got an urge to set Matt on fire."

"But what's about all this kidnapping for this, this, 'skull' thing?" asked one dragon.

"It's called 'school'," said Matt, "It's a place where dragons learn how to be smart and learn how to manage in the world. And you should consider yourselves lucky they're getting it for free here. You won't believe how much other parents have to pay to get their kids educated."

"We can teach them everything they need: how to fly, hunt, fight, and survive," said a dragon loftily, Matt saying "And that's why you're stranded here." taking the wind out the complainer's sails

"What more could we want?" asked another dragon.

"Oh, how about treasure?" asked Matt.

There was a deafening yell of "YEAH!" causing Matt to wince .

"Well, there is easier and less dangerous ways to earn treasure. And your children are learning how in school," said Matt.

"It's boring..." complained one of the young dragons at that, getting several agreements before Matt put his foot down, literally.

"ENOUGH!" he snapped , "I know it may seem boring, but you're going to benefit from it later. Someday, you might face a problem that you can't just blast or smash your way out of and you'll need your education to help you. Now stop complaining and listen to your teacher like you're supposed to." He turned to Draco and asked, "By the way, who's the poor sap who's teaching these kids?"

"No idea, I think they might have ran away," said Draco .

"Yeah, Kala was substituting when they tied her up and-" started Mina.

"What did they do to her?" roared Matt, Morph going cross-eyed behind him and popping.

"Er, well, we only saw part of it," said Draco. Matt glared at that, glaring at all of them as Draco and Contrinus noted an unfortunately familiar glare.

Morph, oblivious as ever, regenerated and asked, "Is it lunchtime yet?"

"Put these ones in whatever we use for a cell," snapped Matt, looking down at Mina. "Except for her," he added, as some self-preservation kicked in .

"But I didn't do anything yet," protested Morph.

"No, you are just an annoying blob," said Matt loftily .

"Yeah, so?" said Morph.

"TAKE THEM AWAY!" roared Matt, Mina looking a bit shocked at that, but seeing Draco's shake of his head before she acted out .

As the experiments were taken away, one of the dragons asked, "But we are going to punish the humans for taking our children without permission, aren't we?"

"I believe so, but we cannot simply go in like bulls. They will crush us otherwise," said Matt, Mina gulping at she listened. It seemed the dragons had either forgotten she was there or were purposely ignoring her .

"So what shall we do with them?" asked another dragon.

"Lock them away for now. I'll deal with them later," snarled Matt .

Mina slowly started backing away, trying not to be noticed. Matt's head span round as her one remaining mechanical limb squeaked, causing Mina to wince and wish she'd listened to Chip's tips on mechanical care. "Where are you going?" he asked softly .

"Uh, to get lunch," said Mina.

"There will be plenty of time to eat later," said Matt in a stern voice before a grumbling noise was heard and he raised an eyeridge. "Brezix, fetch my niece some food," he commanded .

Just then, there was a flapping overhead and everyone looked up to see Chloe coming in for a landing, looking more ticked than...ok, as ticked off as she normally looked right before a beating. Matt just stood stoically as she landed, not even flinching as she approached...at least till the last few steps where he cringed a little .

"Matt, I'm not certain if it's directly your fault, but I'm still gonna zap you because of these blue stripes," said Chloe.

"You dare speak to me like-" started Matt before Chloe zapped him with enough electricity to make him light up like a neon sign.

The other dragons winced at that before, to Chloe's shock, he shook it off. "You _dare_ attack your leader?" he snapped before squealing as Chloe pulled a Megan on him .

"I dare to attack my annoying brother," said Chloe before jumping up and down on him.

The plasma dragons stared before one said, "What is your name?"

"Chloe," said Chloe, before smacking Matt's head against the ground.

"ALL HAIL THE NEW QUEEN BY RIGHT OF COMBAT!" yelled one of the dragons, all of them bowing in unison .

Chloe looked around before grinning and saying, "I could get used to this."

"But..." said Matt sadly before one of the dragons said "Should we kill your opponent?" causing him to squeak .

"Nah, just send him into humiliating exile until he's ready for a rematch," said Chloe.

Mina winced at that as Matt was dragged away. "Erm...Chloe?" she whispered .

"Yeah?" asked Chloe.

"Should you be getting rid of Matt after he just convinced them to not attack Morgan?" she hissed .

"Say what now?" asked Chloe.

"My queen, the humans to the north, the dragonlings that they kidnapped are free. Now we can destroy them," said the dragon Matt had called Brezix .

"Whoa, wait a moment, let's not fly off the handle," said Chloe.

"You do not wish retribution? We must show strength. Perhaps a drink will help," said one of the dragonesses.

"Uh, sure, I am a bit thirsty," said Chloe. Mina gulped as one of the dragonesses passed over a smoking goblet. Chloe gulped and said, "On second thought, I'm on a diet. I probably shouldn't."

"It will help," said the dragoness, taking a sip for demonstration and nothing apparently happening .

Chloe looked at the goblet before shrugging and taking a sip. The reaction was instant, her eyes crossing as the blue stripes expanded, her horns and back spikes sharpening as she spouted random words . Mina gulped and backed away, careful not to make her hinges squeak again.

The others jumped as Chloe shot upright, looking around with a cool commanding stare. "My queen...are you ok? It doesn't usually do that," said one of the dragons .

Chloe coughed a bit, a small thundercloud coming out of her throat. "I'll be fine. It just settles roughly," she said, "Now then, you were saying something about launching an assault?"

"Yes, my queen," said the dragon before jumping as Chloe saw her now plasma dragoness look in a reflective surface and screamed .

"Is something the matter?" asked another dragon.

"I...I..." said Chloe before going cross-eyed again. She blinked and her eyes had turned red. "There is nothing wrong," she said with a much different air.

Mina gulped before slipping back as one of the dragons asked "What is your name? That human name cannot possibly be yours."

"You may refer to me as Chimalma," said Chloe.

"Indeed, my lady," said Brezix, before saying "What about the whelp?" causing Mina to snap "I'm not a whelp."

'Chimalma' glanced at Mina and said, "Leave her with the other children. And take off some of that metal if you can."

Mina gulped at that, saying, "I'm ok...really."

"It has to come off at some point," said Chimalma.

"It's coming off by itself," said Mina desperately .

"I'm not seeing any signs of that," said Chimalma.

"It'll take a few more days...and stress makes it regrow. Please stop scaring me," said Mina desperately, one of her partially converted legs re-metallizing .

Chimalma stepped back and said, "I see, in that case, just let her play with the others."

"Er, that won't help with the stress," said Mina.

"Nonsense, you'll be perfectly fine," said Chimalma. Mina yelped as a dragoness grabbed her by her neck's scruff and carried her away. "Now then, let's start preparing for the attack," said Chimalma.

Draco and Contrinus glared out as several dozen of the younger dragonlings stared at them with the sort of curious stare young children have when they are plotting mischief. "FOR BLITZNAK'S SAKE, STOP STARING!" Draco screamed finally, causing the kids to laugh .

"They're not that bad," said Morph, though he was being used as a volleyball by them.

The door opened and Mina was tossed in, rolling over until she ended up against the wall, the trio noticing she was almost fully robot again and, if her red optics were any judge, pissed off to a level that would make her god-aunt, Chloe, proud.

"Uh, Mina you don't have the urge to destroy all organics, do you?" asked Contrinus.

"No, just one," snapped Mina, a laser blast shooting out from her eyes and tagging Morph, much to Mina's shock and the plasma dragonlings' collective amusement as they applauded .

Morph regenerated and said, "I'm ok, are we still playing?"

The dragonlings however were more interested in Mina. "You're cool. How'd you get all shiny like that?" asked a young dragoness, probably only a few days hatched .

"A mean robot tried to turn me into another robot," said Mina.

"Coooool..." said the dragonlings in unison.

"Um, excuse me, but don't we have other things to-" started Draco before the other dragonlings mobbed him.

Mina and Contrinus yelped as Draco was beaten to a pulp before one of the dragonlings said, "Ok, we like you cause you look cool. What you wanna do?"

Mina said "Erm..." before getting an evil grin. "Let's play 'escape'.", Contrinus getting an identical grin .

"Can I pop my limbs back in first?" groaned Draco.

Mina called out, "ESCAAAAAPE!" an older dragon opening the door and snapping "Can you PLEASE keep it dow-ohshit." before the dragonlings mobbed him .

"So let me get this straight: you've lost Matt, Chloe, Mina, the experiments, and the dragonlings within an hour of their being here?!" snapped Morgan.

"Pardon me, but I'm still here," said Chip from within one of the computers.

"Yes...and you've been in the computer," snapped Morgan, "If the colony finds out we had their young, they'll kill everyone here. It'll be the sun purge all over again."

"It's not like you were holding them for ransom, it was only school," said Chip, "Though I doubt that they would see it that way."

"These are plasma dragons. They started life as weapons and think like that. They'll fight first and negotiate later. I'm requesting support from New Atlantis," said Morgan darkly, walking out.

Aria said calmly, "Well, it seems it's up to us. I wonder if there's a workshop or droid assembler around here?"

"Not likely. This was only supposed to be a research station," said Chip, "Though I suppose there's a robot you could commandeer here."

"There is yours," said Aria with an evil grin before saying, "I'm joking. It's too short for what I have in mind."

"Oh hardy-har-har, I can already tell you're going to fit with the rest of the jokers," said Chip dryly.

"Look, we still need a plan," said Aria scolding before looking around at something before saying "What do you know, Morgan's got some droids on station after all. It should do." before she vanished, a locker-like box in the corner lighting up .

Chip hopped out of the computer and said, "So how do we stop the dragons without hurting them? I suppose we can make them listen to Matt's singing. That'll deter anything with ears."

"I doubt it. If they are bio-weapons then they work better when angry...and Mr. Lynch's singing is a crime against hearing," said Aria, currently insider a skeletal-looking bot that came out its storage container

"True that," said Chip, "Any alternative ideas?"

"All I can think of is damage control. We need to find the others and evacuate," said Aria calmly.

"Knowing them, they're probably right in the thick of things," said Chip.

…

Matt glared on a ridge overlooking the town. After he'd come round his 'escort' had chosen to run away rather than be viciously mauled. He also had some company . "I can't believe I just lost leadership to my sister," growled Matt, "Not the first time, but this is the first time I've ever been chief."

Dexex leaned over next to him and said coyly, "This happens all the time. She will need your help soon enough."

"Oh, like I'm gonna help Chloe out with her assault. I'd rather have front row seats to watch her get her butt kicked," said Matt.

"I think she is going by the name 'Chimalma' now," said Dexex, nuzzling Matt .

"Figures she'd go Aztec," said Matt, "And would you please stop doing that, I'm trying to fume."

"Oh, you just need to relax, my lord. You are still the leader and they will remember that. She is just a half blood at most," said Dexex .

"She's very good at convincing people not to rebel," said Matt darkly.

"You have been away from your clan too long," said Dexex kindly, unknowingly going right back into Matt's ego again as she said, "You are clearly the stronger and braver of the two."

"Well obviously," said Matt, "She's always been trying to undercut my authority."

"Of course, such a handsome dragon like you..." said Dexex before pausing and stammering "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Dexex...would you mind give me some space for a few minutes?" asked Matt.

Dexex nodded, getting up and walking away as Matt waited till he was alone and he went over to a stream and dunked his head under the water. Even under the water, he could still hear the whispers in his head, 'She is a suitable mate. She will be able to bear us many eggs. Your pitiable fire dragon can't do that.'

"Not listening...lalalalalala…" Matt meant to say though it came out as 'blubblubblub.'

'You are wasting your potential clinging to her. Dexex can provide us the same services with actual results. The clan wouldn't approve of Kala anyways,' continued the whispers.

'Shut up, shut up, shut up,' replied Matt, finding a rock at the bottom of the stream and headbutting it a few times . That idea didn't turn out so well since Matt nearly knocked himself silly and was losing his breath.

It also gave the spell a chance to jump forward, Dexex walking back when she heard the noises and screaming in shock when she saw Matt apparently trying to drown himself. She quickly pulled him out of the water and snapped, "Have you lost your mind?!"

Matt seemed to have a distant look in his eyes before they refocused to that of a calm exterior, similar to how he had been down in the colony . "Sorry, I just got...lost in thought," said Matt.

"You were...drowning yourself..." said Dexex, sounding shocked .

"I can hold my breath a long time, shall I demonstrate?" asked Matt smoothly. Dexex looked puzzled before 'Matt' kissed her. It would be a while before she went back to the colony.

Elsewhere, Chip and Aria were heading for the dragons' city. Getting through the jungle wasn't hard, but getting the third member of their expedition to come along was.

"Why do I have to come? I could be the scout...as long as I don't have to go near those little demons again," said Kala, twitching as the enforced sugar rush from earlier still blazed away .

"Better get used to them, that's what your own kids will be like someday," said Chip.

Kala whimpered at that before saying with manic hope, "Maybe they'll be like Mina...nicer and calm..."

"I'm rather curious if they will come from eggs or not," said Aria.

"I hope so. 9 months with mood swings, weird food cravings, and morning sickness will reduce Matt's last bit of sanity to shreds," said Chip.

"He recovered sanity?" said Aria, sounding shocked .

Chip paused and considered this a while before saying, "Let's just say that's become more stable since Chloe came back to our side."

"Oh, he finally found her? Where was she all that time?" said Aria .

"You haven't read the files very thoroughly, have you?" asked Chip, "Chloe was brainwashed into the persona of General Silvia of the Hamsterviel Empire for quite some time. There's a longer story, but what's immediately important is that she was the dragon that popped Morph earlier."

"Oh, I got that much but I was not exactly up to date on news where I was: running war simulations for NSC fleet," said Aria icily .

"Oh, well, hopefully we'll get a chance to know one another better," said Chip.  
Kala said dully, "Will you two stop it? It's kinda freaky when two PCs are flirting."

Aria and Chip immediately snapped, "We are not flirting!"

"Yes you are," smirked Kala .

"Kala, I don't even have a gender," said Chip.

"And I disposed of most of my organic longings centuries ago," said Aria.

"Urgh, just no writing new programs," groaned Kala...before she stepped on something that sent her into the trees.

Chip and Aria looked up to see Kala dangling from a rope around her ankle. "Hmm...I think I know what's coming next," said Chip.

"GET THE INTRUDERS!" yelled a voice before the remaining two were buried under blue scales...and a familiar voice said urgently, "Wait, I know those two. Uncle Chip?"

"Hello Mina, good to see you're not in harm's way," said Chip.

"Yeah...about that," said Mina, coming into view to reveal that her mechanical parts were finally gone...but she was smeared with paint and had a rather-rough looking crown on her head.

Draco was glaring behind her wearing a jester's hat, along with a happy Morph wearing an identical outfit. "Laugh and you die," growled Draco .

"I'm surprised that you're wearing that hat. Morph, not so much," said Chip, "Where's Contrinus?"

"Lookout," said Mina promptly, pointing up to where Kala had gotten her hands free and was strangling Contrinus, who had apparently been in charge of the trap .

"Ah, very well, and you're apparently the queen or something," said Aria.

"Do not disrespect Queen Deathglare," snapped a dragonling, causing Chip and Aria to stare before laughing .

"It was their idea, not mine," said Mina sourly.

"Ah, ok, I'm guessing you've made sure the attack hasn't happened yet," said Aria calmly.

Mina nodded. "I convinced them that there'd be no more sweets if they killed all the humans. They're surprisingly sneaky. We've caught 3 scouts already," she said proudly .

"Would those happen to be us?" asked Chip dryly.

"No, they're plasma dragons," said Draco, assuredly .

"Uh-huh, so then, how will you stop the main force of Matt's army?" asked Aria.

"It's not Matt's army, its Chloe's," said Draco darkly .

Chip blinked before saying, "Ok, I can imagine Chloe overthrowing Matt, but her attacking the Atlanteans?"

"They gave her something to drink and she turned all...evil-looking like Matt when he gets angry," said Mina sadly .

"Probably that same brew they tried back in El Dorado," said Chip.

"El Dorado? That place exists?" asked Aria.

"We've yet to find a myth that's been proven to _not_ exist," said Draco.

"So what did this brew do exactly?" said Aria, ignoring Draco's comment .

"Well, as far as I can tell, it's pretty much essence of plasma dragon, with extra Aztec-themed ego," said Chip.

"Oh dear, it's a mutagen. Well, as long as I can get a undigested sample, a counter serum should be easy, as long as no sealing mana's put in place, otherwise it just sits dormant," said Aria calmly, getting a few weird looks. "What?" she said accusingly .

"That's not something I would have expected you to know about," said Draco.

"Executive genetics had extensive bio-research programs. Who do you think reverse-engineered the nanites that Mr. Lynch uses?" said Aria, loftily, a dragonling yelling "She's boring! LET'S EAT HER!" causing Aria to manage "what-" before she was mobbed, Mina facepawing.

A few seconds later, there was the sound of metal clanking and soon several dragonlings were whining and crying about sore teeth. "Shouldn't have eaten so much sugar," said Draco.

"No, this shell appear to be adamantine, or some offshoot. They should be fine," said Aria, getting up before hearing a thud as Draco and Mina fainted, Aria feeling her face to realize the faux skin had been torn off and that she'd literally been a talking metal skull. "That is annoying," she said before turning to the dragonlings and saying, "Until Queen Deathglare has woken up, you will answer to me. Understand?" She made her optics glow red to emphasize it.

"Erm, that's not a good idea..." said Contrinus from up high, having not fainted due to being used to similar droids to aria back in Pan Pacific...just before all the dragonlings flamed Aria.

"I hate kids," Aria groaned .

Kala had managed to get herself down by then. She wrinkled her nose and said, "I'm gonna go for a walk. I'll be back when the fumes are gone."

She walked around, making the choice to shift to dragon form, in case she ran into any of the colony, before pausing as she heard Matt's voice...and another voice. "Now what is he doing here?" she said to herself before heading in that direction.

She padded slowly round the corner and peered out to see Matt, laying down with his wing over the back of another plasma dragoness. It was probably at this point that everything turned red...

"As soon as I reclaim control of the colony, I think I have decided who my queen will be," said Matt, though more precisely it was Xiuhtecuhtli at the helm.

"Ah, is it the one that has gone to scout new land?" asked Dexex?

"I think not," said Xiuhtecuhtli with a smirk, the two nuzzling again before an angry red blur shot by and to Dexex's shock, Xiuhtecuhtli had vanished.

"My lord?" asked Dexex in confusion.

A red dragoness landed, growling angrily. "You get away from my bushi bu, you BITCH!" snapped the dragoness, a manic anger in her eyes .

"Who are you?" asked Dexex, backing up.

"Kala...I'm his girlfriend..." snapped the dragoness before spitting a fireball at Dexex that was easily blocked by a plasma field .

"What? But he said his other potential mate was off scouting for new land to colonize," said Dexex.

"He did, did he? I mean...yes, I was," snapped Kala, before remembering the cover story they had agreed on just in case.

"He didn't tell me you were a fire dragon," said Dexex in a disapproving voice.

"I didn't realize that was a problem when we began dating," snapped Kala, spitting another fireball .

"He is a plasma dragon, it is only right that his mate should be another plasma dragon, not a common-as-ash fire dragon," said Dexex.

"What?" hissed Kala, her voice getting a dangerous edge .

"Tell me, are fire dragons still the most overly-abundant type of dragon or have the earth dragons overtaken them on commonness?" asked Dexex mockingly.

Kala snarled at that before shrieking "MEEGA NALA QUEESTA!" tackling Dexex . The two dragonesses tumbled about as they fought each other, using tooth, claw, and breath. Unfortunately, this caused quite a few nearby plants to catch on fire. It soon look like the dragonesses will burn down the jungle around them in their catfight.

Xiuhtecuhtli staggered back up, trying to get his eyes to look the same way before seeing the fight. The fire dragoness seemed familiar for some reason. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"My lord, you didn't tell me you were infatuated with a fire dragoness," said Dexus, amused despite the fact she was barely holding Kala off .

"Was I?" asked Xiuhtechutli, sounding surprised.

"Matt," snapped Kala before going cross-eyed as Dexex punched her on the snout .

"I'm rather surprised you'd associate yourself with such a common breed," said Dexex.

"COMMON? You wanna hear common? He's just a human who got shotfull of dragon nanites," sneered Kala, instantly feeling guilty after

"He's a human?" asked Dexex with surprise.

"Yeah, that's right," snapped Kala, losing all sympathy instantly .

"But, he has all the markings of a great leader. Well, he could be more buff, but he still was a chief," said Dexex, sounding disappointed.

Matt/Xiuhtecuhtli glared before saying, "You will treat your better with respect." causing Kala to turn on him and lunge at him, fangs and claws out. Despite his earlier bravado, Xiuhtecuhtli let out a very girly scream before Kala started beating him up.

Dexex snapped before firing a plasma burst into Kala's back, low enough to stun her . Kala staggered before Xiuhtecuhtli threw her off.

Xiuh glared and looked ready to tear her throat out before a tiny voice made him stop. "Go away before my merciful nature takes a break," he snarled .

Kala glared at him and said, "I'm only letting you off this once because you're not yourself right now. But try to move on to her and I'll wreck _your_ egg-making system." As she walked off, she snarled to Dexex, "Matt is mine and I've already got one too many rivals for him. Get too cozy and I'll roast you like a pepper."

Dexex smirked before slashing at Kala. "And that is my warning," she said to the horrified Kala .

Kala glared at her at the two of them before flying off. The plasma dragons were feeling smug until a flaming branch from one of the burning trees fell down. "Uh oh," said Xiuh simply .

"Er, you can stop the fire, right?" asked Dexex.

"Nope, RUN AWAY!" yelled Xiuh .

Meanwhile, the preparation for the assault on the humans wasn't going as quickly as Chimalma wanted. Namely that her scouts weren't reporting back. "That's three times now, where are they?" she snapped at a nervous dragon .

"Well, er, we're not sure," said the dragon.

"What does _that_ mean?" Chimalma hissed .

"They just keep...disappearing," said the dragon.

"Not _good_ enough...and where are the hatchlings...and the prisoners?" Chimalma snapped .

"Oh, you noticed that," said the dragon reluctantly.

Chimalma snapped. "Enough! Enough scouting, we...is the ridge on fire?" she asked, looking up to see smoke .

The dragons turned to look at that. It did definitely looked like part of the jungle was on fire. "Oh, not again. Maybe the old leader sneezed?" joked one dragon.

Chimalma turned and hit him with a blast of electrically-charged plasma. The others winced as the luckless dragon keeled over before another said "We should do something. If the fire blows this way..."

"Then we shall consume the flames!" snapped Chimalma.

"Er, we can't do that," said another dragon.

"IT'S A FIGURE OF SPEECH! WE CAN FLY!" snapped Chimalma .

"Our wings can't put out those flames," said the dragon.

"Then we fly over it to the humans!" snapped Chimalma .

"Yeah, burn the humans," said the dragon that Chimalma zapped.

She turned and asked, "Didn't I kill you?"

"We have very sturdy hides," said the dragon.

"Good to know," said Chimalma before using her tail to smack the dragon between the legs and render him helpless, "Oh, it's not that sturdy everywhere." The other male dragons winced while the female ones cheered in female sisterhood. "Ok, who else wants to question my orders?" she called before a voice said "I do."

Chimalma turned to see Xiuh glaring at her. "Brother, you think you can challenge me?" asked Chimalma mockingly.

"Easily, me and my queen will put you back in your place," snapped Xiuh .

"Your queen?" asked Chimalma, sounding amused. Dexex strode into view beside Xiuh at that, standing proudly . Chimalma laughed and said, "That's the best you could find?"

Xiuh snarled at that. "I'll tear you apart!" he snapped before the two fired at one another . The blasts met in midair and caused a sizeable explosion that rocked the ruins. But the two siblings were only getting started.

Morgan fell off his bed as the alarms began to rind. "Poseidon dammit...what's going on?" he snapped .

"Sir, there's an extensive spike in plasma energy at the ruins," said one of the techies, "It appears that some of the dragons are fighting. Also, there appears to be a forest fire."

"Urgh...that's it, I've had enough of this. Have the troops arrived from the city?" said Morgan angrily

"Yes sir," said the techie.

"Good, have them meet me at the main gates. It's time to end this," snapped Morgan .

"Yes sir," said the techie.

Kala meanwhile was having a 'little moment'...a moment that seemed to be doing a good job extinguishing the fire from the floods of tears. "HE DOESN'T LOOOOVE ME ANYMOOOORE!" she roared, the gang just staring awkwardly .

"Oh, I'm sure he does," said Contrinus, "It's just his alter ego that has too much ego."

"NOOO...HE BLEW ME OOOOFF...THE JERK!" Kala snapped, her mood swinging into bloodthirsty fury for a second, causing everyone to dive for cover as Kala spat a flamethrower out .

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get him back soon," said Draco.

"Yeah, you just have to keep clonking him on the head until the right personality comes out," said Morph.  
Kala got a mad grin at that. "Perfect...perfect...and I get to let off steam as well," she said evilly, one of the dragonlings saying "Is the nanny still insane?" causing Kala to involuntarily twitch and whimper .

Chip sighed and said, "Haven't we more pressing concerns like the forest fire or the plasma dragons attacking?"  
Mina sighed. "We can handle them. I convinced the kids it's a giant game of tag. We've got at least 25 tied up in that cave," she said, cheerfully pointing to a cave at the back, an annoyed hogtied plasma dragon glaring out the doorway...before an explosion made everyone jump.,

"What the heck was that?" asked Draco.

"It came from the plasma dragon colony," said Contrinus.

"Uh oh...I know that explosion," said Aria weakly before adding, "Last time I heard it, he blew up an EGIS dropship...Matt."

"Matt? Matt's there?" growled Kala.

"If there's a second explosion, yes. He never does just one," said Aria, Kala opening her mouth to object before pausing and nodding in agreement. The rest all strained their ears before a second explosion was heard, a dazed and scorched plasma dragon landing in front of the dragonlings and being instantly dogpiled .

"Don't gag him yet, we need information," called Mina.

The dragon yelped as one dragonlings started gnawing on his left horn. "I will never talk...OW...STOP IT!" he said, yelling the last part at the dragonlings who just laughed .

"I suggest you talk," said Draco, "You don't want to find out what they did to the other scouts."

The dragon gulped before saying, "There is a fight for leadership."

"And who is it this time?" asked Chip.

"It is Xiuhtecuhtli, returned to retake his crown from his sister, Chimalma," said the dragon.

The group stared before one dragonling finally summed up what the experiments and Kala had all thought since El Dorado and said, "That name sucks."

"Blame the Aztecs for making up such ridiculous and hard-to-pronounce names," said Chip, "But we better do something quick. Those two could level the countryside with their power struggle."

Kala glared before grabbing the luckless plasma dragon. "Can anyone challenge?" she hissed, the dragon nodding weakly . Kala grinned before turning to the others. "Friends, I'm going to show everyone who's wearing the pants in this relationship."  
Draco opened his mouth and said, "Erm, maybe you should wait before..." before a blast of flame engulfed him, leaving him severely scorched and him saying "Nurble keyboard mango." before he fell over .

"Any other objectors?" growled Kala.

"Nope," said Contrinus weakly, a dragonling calling "Do that again."

"Maybe later, for right now..." said Kala before flying off.

"I suppose we'll have to take care of the forest fire ourselves now," said Chip dryly.  
Aria nodded before pausing. "Incoming transmission...Atlantean combat dropship approaching the base...orders for a 'cleansing' order," she said, aimlessly .

"Er, what's that supposed to mean?" asked Contrinus.

"If it's what I think it means, the equivalent of a sanitization mission for the NSC," said Aria, the dragonlings staring as their brains processed that before they all freaked out as one.

"They can't do that! There are friends down there!" shouted Mina.

"I don't believe they're in the mood. As far as the Atlantean council is concerned, the dragons down there are a failed weapon, one that needs to be decommissioned," said Aria emotionlessly .

"We gotta stop them!" said Mina.  
Aria laughed at that, "Are you kidding? Kids against trained military? This is not Home Alone."

"Shh! Don't give them any ideas!" hissed Draco.

"What ideas? The only option I see is to run away," snapped Aria .

"We're not running away! We have to go down there and, and tell them to stop fighting," said Mina desperately.

"Fine, what should I put in the final letter to your relatives?" snapped Aria, glaring at Mina .

"You can tell them I did something brave," said Mina before flying off, the dragonlings flying after her.

Aria turned to glare at the experiments. "This thrice-damned planet. At least the last one had sensible people on it!" she snapped.

Contrinus sighed and said, "We have to go after her anyways, if only to pull her and the Lynches out of the line of fire."

"Fine..." snapped Aria .

The battle between Xiuh and Chimalma was very explosive, reducing more than a few old buildings to rubble. But Xiuh had most of the upper hand since he had a more natural control over plasma.

"Do you give up, sister? I'd prefer not to kill you," Xiuh taunted, easily dodging an angry response of a blast .

"I'm not finished yet!" snapped Chimalma, trying to get into close range where she'd have the advantage.

Xiuh shrugged before firing a stream of plasma at Chimalma . Chimalma barely escaped the attack and Xiuh laughed. "You may have caught me by surprise last time, little sister, but no one can truly stand up to-" he boasted when a red mass collided into him and sent him rolling.

Chimalma perked up at that in shock before roaring, "Who dares interrupt us?"

The fire dragoness turned and snapped, "I dare. I'm here to take back my bushi bu and kick everyone's tail who's trying to support this dumb 'Aztec chief' nonsense."

Xiuh got up and snarled. "You were warned, mongrel," he snapped, spitting a plasma blast. The plasma blast hit Kala's side and she snarled at Matt, her eyes literally burning with rage.  
A second later a water blast landed between them, a sky blue dragon landing and roaring "ENOUGH!" The other dragons turned to look at the newcomer, a water dragon judging by his finned tail, webbed claws, and fishlike scales.

Kala however just snarled before saying, "I challenge these two idiots for leadership of the plasma clan." pointing to the two offended looking siblings. The plasma dragon clan in question looked ready to fight before pausing as several more Shar-Khans landed on the roofs, of varying elements .

"There's not going to be a plasma clan," snapped the water dragon, "This reformation experiment is nothing but a disaster. We're scrubbing it clean."

Kala went bug-eyed at that before snarling, "Morgan? Don't you dare."

Morgan turned to Kala and saying, "Matt and Chloe won't be harmed, but the rest have got to go. There's no civilizing these creatures."

"You have no right to do that!" snapped Xiuh .

"We bred these dragons, we have the responsibility to exterminate them," said Morgan.

Kala glared. "Fine...be like Taleth," she snapped, aiming straight for the sore point .

"We're not letting these lesser dragons put us down!" snapped one plasma dragon.

"Destroy them all!" shouted another.

"ENOUUUGH!" roared Xiuh, a blast of energy knocking almost every dragon head over heels, causing the plasma dragons to bow shaking . "I am the chief of these dragons, I say where these dragons may live. And you have no authority to decide how they may live," snapped Xiuh.

"I do when you've done a terrible job in leading them towards anything near civilized," snapped Morgan.

"I do not know you so you have no right to judge me!" snapped Xiuh angrily .

Just then, Mina and the other dragonlings flew into the area. "Please, stop fighting, you don't have to hurt each other," pleaded Mina, the other dragonlings were making a lot more commotion.

It didn't help that half of them were chanting "fight, fight, fight." over and over though one, almost oozing pure cute came up to Morgan and asked in a tiny voice. "Pwease don't blow us up, mifter dragon," doing a puppy dog eyes expression.

The experiments soon made their way through as well and started protesting against the extermination, except Morph. He was just following along. Aria pushed past, calling "Warmaster Morgan, you do realize you need to get _direct_ sanctions from the new council, a vote that includes the dragon members?"

Morgan gave her an annoyed look and shouted, "Men, stand down. We'll corral them to-"

"Wait, what's burning?" asked one of the plasma dragons, sniffing the air. The clan all turned as one to see the reason the dragonlings had arrived so fast: the fire had finally arrived

Immediately, the dragons started panicking. Morgan kept his head and tried to douse the flames with his water powers, but they were burning too fiercely. The plasma dragons were all freaked out, all thoughts of war had gone, but they hadn't thought of flying off yet.

Then there was a bright flare of fire as Kala roared, "EVERYONE, SHUT THE SMEG UP!" Everyone paused in shock at that .

Kala's dragon form had altered, the spines along her back her back had been replaced by flames, her wing membranes were glowing like fire, and her eyes were definitely balls of fire, flames shooting upwards.

"Erm...Miss Triseptus?" Morgan said carefully, before flapping aside as the fires seemed to flow towards Kala .

"I said SHUP UP!" snapped Kala, her eyes blazing more.

Xiuh glared before saying promptly, "I've had about enough of you..." stomping towards her with the aim to put her out of his misery . Kala turned her fiery stare on Xiuh who actually caught fire from it.

Chimalma roared at that, sending a blast at her . A flap from Kala's wings sent a wave of fire that burned through the blast and made Chimalma scramble back to avoid being torched.

Kala glared before yelling, "PLASMA CLAN! I AM YOUR LEADER NOW! ANY OBJECTIONS?"

The plasma dragons quickly backed away from Kala, not wanting to fight the burning dragon. "Er, Kala, the wildfire," said Chip, pointing at the blaze that rose up with every outburst. Kala turned and opened her mouth wide. The fire then started spiraling from the trees straight down her throat. Chip just stared before wincing as Kala burped a fire ring out "That'll do it," he said weakly .

Then Kala turned to Xiuh and Chimalma and snapped, "As for you two, you're going to let the real Matt and Chloe back out right now or I will bake you where you stand, got it?"

Chimalma hissed, "Their bodies are ours..."

"Er, you haven't seen how dangerous she is in a fight," said Xiuh. With that, he turned to Kala and bowed. "I for one agree to your terms," he said before seemingly concentrating.

After a minute, Kala snapped, "Well, get on with it!"

"Hmm...it appears the spells sealed in place. I don't suppose one of Xipe Totec's bloodline is present?" Xiuh asked, sounding embarrassed .

Kala turned to the other dragons and snapped, "Who's in Xipe Totec's bloodline?"  
"Who?" asked a dragoness .

"Your former chief!" snapped Kala.

The plasma dragons just looked confused. "They won't know who that is," said Chip, "Their memories have been purged, remember?"

"What? WHAT?" snapped Kala, cracks appearing in her scales .

"Kala, calm down, we've prepared for this eventuality," said Morgan.

Kala snapped, before roaring, "THEN DO IT!"

"It'll take a bit of time to prepare," said Morgan.

Kala nodded before turning to Chimalma and snapping, "But you don't have an excuse. Power down now or else!"

Chimalma nodded weakly before her eyes flashed. She shook her head and asked in Chloe's normal tone, "Why am I still blue?"

Kala snapped, "What do you remember?"

"I remember an annoying dragon offering me a bad drink," snapped Chloe, glaring around.

Dexex complained, "Nobody knew it would do that. It's just an energy drink to us."

"Of course you didn't," said Xiuh softly only for Kala to snarl at him. Xiuh just snarled back at Kala who finally just hung her head in defeat.

With that, Kala's extra fiery features disappeared. "Don't worry, Kala, you won't lose Matt," said Contrinus.

"Maybe the two of you can just share him," joked Draco. Kala didn't even turn as she stomped on Draco .

"That isn't an uncommon practice for chiefs," said Dexex, "Of course, I would be his first mate." The response was for Kala to tackle Dexex, the two rolling away and into some mud that Morgan's water blast had caused.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea at all," said Xiuh before twinging a bit and saying, "Of course, I can only have the winner as my first mate."

Chloe sighed as Dexex and Kala briefly forgot their fight at that and teamed up to beat up Xiuh . Morgan just sighed and said, "I'll get to work on the time portal."

* * *

Well, there's another chapter. I've got it finished that I thought it would be. This was originally supposed to a single chapter, but the plot ended up being extended further than I thought. So you'll be seeing part two next week. Keep an eye out for it and please review.


	6. Retracing Bloodlines pt 2

**Voyagers Saga**

**The Sundered World**

**Chapter 6: Retracing Bloodlines pt. 2**

The plasma dragon colony was behaving much better under the rule of their new queen. But there was still a problem with Matt, or Xiuhtecuhtli as he preferred to be called. For a start, he kept challenging Kala to fights for the role of leadership and only a plea from Dexex and Kala's memory that Matt was inside was stopping her from burning his head off. Still, this was a problem that cannot be allowed to go on. But correcting wasn't quite so straight forward.

Kala glared as Xiuh limped away from yet another loss. "Ok, this is getting stupid. We have to deal with this before the council finds out and they lock him up," she snapped at Morgan .

"Oh, and I suppose you can program and coordinate a time portal faster than I can," said Morgan sarcastically.

"I'm losing my patience. I could always just tell my little clan to eat you," threatened Kala .

"You sound more like a plasma dragon with every day," said Morgan.  
Kala smirked. "Well, I should given I'm their...but I digress. How long till the portal works and what's the damn plan anyway?" she said .

"Well, the problem currently is that apparently Xipe Totec had no other children than his daughter. So if we can't get one of his descendants to undo the spell, we'll get one of his ancestors," said Morgan.

"I suppose, what's the plan to fix that?" Kala said darkly .

"By using the gateway, the same one you used to bring us to this time," said Morgan.

"Oh great, isn't that the same one that nearly destroyed time and space as we know it?" Kala said calmly .

"In one alternate timeline, yes," said Morgan, "But we know how to operate it more properly."

"This won't end well...fine, what's the plan?" said Kala glumly .

"A select team will be going through the portal to the time period where the sun dragons were still alive. At that particular time, almost every one of them is most likely to be a distant grandfather or grandmother to Xipe Totec. You have to make one of them undo the spell that's corrupting Matt's personality," said Morgan.

"It's never that easy, what's the catch?" said Kala simply .

"Well, as I hope you're aware by now, travelling to the past can risk altering the present quite a lot. So once you've convinced a dragon to fix Lynch, you'll need to mindwipe it. And try to avoid any contact at all."

"Seems simple," said Kala, "But how do we get back?"

"You'll be given a time beacon which you'll turn on once you've completed your mission. We'll be able to locate you within the past and we'll open a portal for you to come back through," said Morgan.

"Great, anything we should know about where we're going?" asked Kala.

Morgan said simply, "This'll be pre-contact. They won't even be aware of humans...and might even kill you on sight if so."

"So stay in dragon forms, got it," said Kala.

"You might want to keep Lynch out of sight as well," said Morgan, "Plasma dragons don't exist yet."

"Not only that, he'll probably try to conquer them, got it," said Kala.

"And just to remind you, the sun dragons had severely overinflated egos. They believed they're the divine and rightful superiors of dragons so keep that in mind," said Morgan.

"Great..." muttered Kala, adding, "I get to pick the team?"

Meanwhile, Mina had been ordered by her 'guardians' to contact her parents with the comm. They were relieved that she was no longer metal but she was still in deep, deep trouble.

"I can't believe this. You said you were staying with Draco and the others, not in the middle of a colony of angry plasma dragons and leading a revolt with their kids," snapped Cynder, Spyro behind her trying to keep a straight face at that.

"But I really wanted to help Matt," said Mina.

"Matt will be fine without your help. At least that robot stuff has worn off," said Spyro as kindly as he could, but still sounding stern, "The experiments are coming home on the next transport from there. You're to come back with them."

"But daaaaad..." whined Mina.

"No buts. You'll be safer at home," said Spyro .

"But they're getting to time travel," protested Mina.

"Definitely not then. Not after the last time," said Spyro sternly, shuddering as he and Cynder remembered the last time .

"But-" protested Mina.

"Mina, you're coming back home or you'll be grounded for a month," said Cynder sternly.

Mina sighed. "Yes mum," she said reluctantly .

Sometime later, the gang had been escorted to the site of the portal, which had been refurbished and made fully operational. Matt had been escorted by several guards considering his tendency to be obstinate.

For Kala, she'd only gotten a brief look at it the last time...but what she'd last seen was a ruined base. Now the base was cleaned up, repaired and lit up, a hundred or so troopers marching back and forth or standing guard over the huge portal ring

"Does this portal get much use?" asked Aria.

"No, but the thing about doors is that they can open from both ends. So the guards are here to prevent visitors," said Morgan .

"Of course," said Aria.

"Anyway, it will take a specific mass measurement to get you where you need to go," said Morgan, the group stepping off the ship, the experiments standing near Mina.

"Huh, didn't think that time travel worked that way," said Chloe.

"I think it varies by the technology," said Chip.

"Oh, if we didn't do this you could end up anywhen," said Morgan, causing the group to shudder

"So just any sun dragon will do?" asked Kala.

"No, there's still enough variety, but we have uploaded a DNA scanner to Aria's robot shell," said Morgan .

"When did we get a DNA sample of Xipe Totec?" asked Draco.

"It was on the files from the El Dorado computer," said Chip.

"The portal will be prepped in a few minutes..." said Morgan, turning to leave.

Mina sighed. "I wanna help too," she said gloomily, Draco petting her kindly on the back .

"Hey, not everyone gets to help all the time," said Draco, "For instance, NegaMorph isn't helping out with this one and they're keeping PlasMorph as far from this as they can."

"They always do," said Mina dully .

"Besides, time travel is always more complicated than you think," said Contrinus, "They're lucky they're not going to a planet where they'd be altered by the reality field."

"That ever happened to you two?" asked Mina, causing Draco and Contrinus to suddenly develop a cough .

"There are some things you are too young to know about," said Chip. Chip paused as he realized he couldn't hear Mina, before looking to see she'd escaped custody while Contrinus and Draco had been suffering an embarrassment overload . "Oh no, not again," moaned Chip.

"We gotta find her, quick," said Draco desperately.

Kala looked up at the portal. Only she and Chloe were going alongside Matt for obvious reasons. Morgan and his men had to stay behind for clear reasons. "Stand by...1.5 units to portal jump..." said a voice over the intercom .

"Ok, remember the basic rules of time travel," said Kala.

"Yeah, yeah, don't step on any butterflies, don't mess with your own ancestors, who won't even be there, don't give any hints," said Chloe.

The group jumped as a metallic dragon landed with a crash in front of them, before it said in Aria's voice, "What do you think?"

"Well, it, uh, certainly sets an image," said Kala.

"Isn't the metal hide a bit of a dead giveaway that we're from the future?" asked Chloe.

"Apparently there was a metallic dragon clan. Not many were left during the sun clan's time. I should not cause comment," said Aria.

"Thirty microunits to portal...stand by," said the PA .

Chloe turned to Xiuh and said, "Now behave yourself and don't get any ideas."

"I will have my vengeance," Xiuh muttered before he looked over to see Mina, peering out from cover and getting an evil idea. He concentrated before saying desperately, "Mina, help, they're gonna exile me."

"Matt, is that you?" asked Mina.

"Mina, you gotta help me," cried Xiuh in his best 'Matt' impression, despite the shock of the trio next to him.

"I'll save you, Matt!" called Mina before leaping out towards him.

"Mina, NO!" cried Chloe as Mina leapt onto the pad, just as the portal blazed into life .

The experiments appeared chasing after Mina but Chip saw the portal flaring up and shouted, "Whoa! Back up! Back up!"  
Sadly, Contrinus and Draco didn't have built in brakes like Chip did and as such barreled into the portal, vanishing with the rest of the portal. "We lost the portal control. No idea where they went," said a technician .

Chip held a hand to his forehead and muttered, "Oh boy..."

The group appeared in a blaze of energy, landing in an alleyway of some kind. "Mina, I can't believe you!" Chloe snapped.

Mina groaned and said, "I feel really weird."

Aria looked at her and said, "It appears the chronal energy has affected your form."

"Oh, I'm not a robot again, am I?" groaned Mina.

"Er, actually, your body's actually moved, uh, forwards," said Kala.

Mina looked around before seeing herself in a puddle, yelping. She looked like she'd aged a few years, now looking almost like the spitting image of her mum when she and Spyro had first teamed up, except for the yellow horns that would have looked more in place on her dad. "Wow," she said weakly .

"Don't get used to it, you're changing back when we get back," said Chloe.

"Speaking of 'when', where exactly is the time period we're in now?" asked Contrinus.

"This looks like old Warfang...but alot less exploded," said Mina, looking around before a building across the street was hit by a blue orb, which made it explode .

"There we go," said Draco dryly.

Several familiar fighters shrieked overhead at that, familiar as they were Ashen fighters. "Oh boy...I think we may be off target," said Chloe weakly as several familiar dark blue dragons flew alongside said fighters.

"My people are here. Maybe you should surrender?" taunted Xiuh .

Chloe zapped him and snapped, "Shut up, it's your fault we're in the wrong place!"

Xiuh however just laughed before spitting a plasma blast into the sky, several of the dragons spotting this apparently as they turned in place . "Chloe, would it be wrong to brain the guy who's sharing a brain with Matt?" asked Draco.

Chloe glared, getting ready to blast Matt/Xiuh before several plasma dragons, wearing facsimiles of the bio armor that Ashen drones wore, landed around them. "Weaklings, how dare you manhandle your superiors," one snarled .

Chloe gave a very sharky smile and said, "Allow me to show you why both sides of that statement are wrong."

With that, Chloe spat several bolts at the dragons...who barely even flinched. "Was I supposed to be hurt?" sneered one of them before several yellow bolts shot through him and his fellows .

The group looked around before someone yelled, "Freeze right there!" The group turned to see a dozen humanoids in stylized armor, two figures on hover vehicles with larger cannons. "You ignite anything and you're dead," said another one of them, their staffs humming with energy .

The group quickly tried to look as submissive as possible, Draco and Contrinus trying to look like non-sapient animals. Xiuh snapped. "How dare you back down? Attack these GTRFGJRTGJ!" before he fell out colt as Chloe electrocuted him .

"We've been trying to keep him under control," said Chloe sweetly.

"Doesn't matter, you're all under arrest," said one of the troopers

"For what charges?" asked Aria.

The trooper looked at Matt/Xiuh before saying, "We'll start with harboring war criminals and see what comes after questioning," before nodding to his men who aimed at Matt. "Terminate the target," he said before another plasma blast shot down, hitting a nearby fountain and causing a cloud of steam.

The group didn't waste the opportunity and quickly ran off, dragging Matt/Xiuh not so gently behind them. By the time the steam had cleared, Chloe looked down to see who she had grabbed to see her holding an annoyed-looking poison dragoness. "Like I said, under arrest," she said before spitting something at her.

Chloe gave a roar of pain as the liquid tear gas burned her eyes. The last thing she felt was something hitting her across the back of the head.

Xiuh opened his eyes weakly to see a dragoness looking at him concerned. "Don't move too quickly, you received a bad shocked," came the dragoness's voice a bit distantly.

"Whuh...wha?" managed Xiuh weakly .

"Shh...don't get up," said the dragoness softly.

"I...what...I demand..." slurred Xiuh.

"Hmm, it seems you've had some malignant magic applied to you as well," said the dragoness, "I think I have something to treat it."

Xiuh went bug-eyed at that as the dragoness began to chant something in Avalarian . "No, no, really, I'm fine," said Xiuh quickly.

The dragoness ignored him, grabbing his head roughly and staring into his own with glowing blue eyes. Xiuh tried to struggle away from her, not liking at all where this was going. A second later, energy shot down the dragoness's paws into his head, the unintended counterspell going to work a vaccine on a nasty little virus.

Xiuh tried to keep the energy away, but they ate into his brain like a swarm of locusts. His last thought before he was removed from his host was a rather human 'Oh bugger...'

Matt groaned before his eyes stopped crossing and he noticed himself very uncomfortably close to a plasma dragoness . "Uh, you mind backing up a bit," said Matt a little nervously.

"Ah, the real you," said the dragoness professionally .

Matt blinked before realizing his head was clearer. Well, as clear as it normally was. "Erm, thanks. That guy's been playing me like a puppet for several days. Don't remember much...like I was asleep," said Matt, a little uncertainly. He had the feeling that Kala was gonna kill him for a very deserved reason .

"Well, your mind has been cleansed of him. But I sense there are still gaps and patches, certainly another mental parasite," said the dragoness.

"He pays rent and I can lock him up in a far worse place should he not play nice," said Matt, before spasming and his eyes going red and he said "Yeah, we share...say, what you doing later?" before he suddenly slapped himself and the eye glow vanished .

The dragoness gave him a puzzled look and said, "Who are you anyways? I have not seen among our kin before."

"Well...I think we mighta come to find you," said Matt before wincing as an explosion was heard and he screamed as two Ashen warrior drones marched in and a insectoid...thing followed them in.

"Medic, what are you doing wasting mana on those who are unwelcome?" it asked in a hissing, clicking voice .

Matt backed up and snapped, "What are they doing here?!"

"They are the ones who freed us from slavery," said the dragoness, before glaring angrily, "Darkans, I do not care what the orders are. He is kin and I would not allow his mind to rot." Matt gulped and backed up. There was only being he knew by that name and he wasn't friendly beforehand. He also wasn't as ugly.

"Fine, make sure he is battle ready. The humans have sent more of their warriors and we will require as many forces fielded as possible. Make _sure_ that his mind is properly conditioned," said Darkans with a hiss, glaring at Matt with a surprisingly reptilian eye. Matt would have struck back with his legendarily-acerbic tongue, but he was way too freaked out to think of a good comeback.

Darkans and his warriors marched out at that, leaving Matt shaking, something the dragoness noticed. "Strange, you act like you have never seen an Ashen before."

"I never seen one that hasn't been squeezed down into a humanoid form!" snapped Matt before pausing as a distant memory bubbled up. "Or maybe I might have seen one..." he said before yelping as the dragoness got him in what he was thinking of as the 'mind meld' position, "Hey, hey, no brain melty!"

"Your mind needs to be cleared," said the dragoness, "We cannot waver from our destiny."

"No, you stay out of my head, you stay-" began Matt before...he was sure he was screaming but everything else was a blank. He could feel the dragoness sorting and auditing his memories like a librarian sorting through a bookshelf, taking away what it didn't like.

But Matt still struggled. This was his mind, these were her memories, no one, let alone her, had the right to mess with them. Unfortunately, the dragoness seemed to be a skilled surgeon, bypassing or dodging any mental block thrown up before she paused at his few happy memories.

The memories of his times back home...of his sister, from before her disappearance and after he recovery...of his friends on Avalar and of Kala. At that the dragoness withdrew, even replacing what few memories she had removed .

As Matt's perception returned to that of the real world, he glared at the dragoness and growled, "Never...do that to me...again."

"I...I won't," said the dragoness, her back to Matt, though not even he could miss the wet patches on the floor under her head .

"Are you alright, er, I don't think I have your name," said Matt.

"The name I was given by the human alchemists was Xela," said the dragoness sadly .

"Ok, Xela, look, I don't know what's all going on, but I think you've been on the wrong side," said Matt.

"I am thinking that too. You're a human, one of the monsters sent to slaughter us," said Xela, bitterly .

"You can't paint all of one species with the same brush," said Matt, "There are good and bad humans just as there are good and bad dragons. Though I think there's really much good in the Ashen."

"The Ashen...the humans who...made us were going to kill us all. The Ashen came to our rescue, promised us a homeworld of our own," said Xela, before spinning on Matt, her eyes glowing blue with anger, "What would you have done?"

"The Ashen don't see as anything else but a weapon any more than the humans do," said Matt, "Er, the humans who are doing the killing that is."

"Our so-called 'kin' are no better. The other dragon clans aided them!" roared Xela .

"Our clan isn't exactly the greatest model for how a dragon should act," said Matt, "Even our ancestors were, to put in bluntly, assholes."

"What are you talking about? Ancestors? We were rescued only a week ago," snapped Xela, losing her patience .

Matt sighed and said, "It's pretty complicated. I'm almost tempted to let you look inside my head so you can see what I'm talking about, but that probably isn't a good idea."

"No, Darkans will want to see you in the battlefield in a few hours," said Xela sternly .

"Oh, sure, like I'm gonna be fighting for the shadow-lurking scum of the multiverse," said Matt sarcastically.

"You don't have a choice. They'll kill you if you resist and the humans will also kill you if you go to them," snapped Xela .

"Between a real rock and a hard place," muttered Matt.

A familiar dark voice in his head said, 'You don't really have to pick. We already got what we came for. We can just head on back to our time.'

"That all depends on how," muttered Matt, getting Xela's attention.

"I'm sorry?" she said

"Uh, you wouldn't happen to know where the rest of my companions are, would you?" asked Matt.

"Your kidnappers? The Atlanteans arrested them," said Xela casually .

Matt's look darkened as he said, "Then we'll have to bust them out."

"Of course not. You've just had major mental changes. You'll be lucky if you can stand," said Xela scolding.

"I'm more than tough enough to handle a prison break," said Matt. With that, Matt tried to get up and fell on his snout with a crunch. "That's just warming up," he said unconvincingly .

Xela shook her head, "It's madness to even consider freeing them in the first place. Why would you even want to?"

"Cause one's my sister, the second's my goddaughter and the rest are good friends," said Matt loftily before deflating as Xela began laughing hysterically .

'You think we ought to tell her we're from the future?' asked Draconus, 'She knows just about everything else.'

"No, culture shock bad. Plus for all we know we're in the future," said Matt to himself .

'Oh like that could be right...can it?' asked Draconus.

"Let's just be careful," said Matt as Xela said "Stop talking to yourself. Come on, I should at least pretend I prepped you."

"How long until my muscles are working again?" asked Matt.

"A few minutes," said Xela, sighing, "You know, if we weren't fighting to survive, you'd be quite handsome. The metal paw and the scar makes you look quite distinguished." causing Matt to try and hide his eye scar.

"Er, I'm not very comfortable with this subject," said Matt.

"Fine, come. You should be able to stand now so follow me," said Xela promptly, suddenly all business again .

Matt managed to stand back up and started after Xela. The corridor outside was clearly Darkans's people's work, given how it looked like it had been grown rather than built...oh and the dozens of more insectoids going back and forth next to plasma dragons, many wearing blank expressions. Matt was careful to keep his expression just as blank, to avoid getting any attention from the big bugs.

"This way," muttered Xela before pausing as another plasma dragon walked into view, his expression anything but emotionless.

"Xela, my darling...and who is this?"

"Set, this is a newcomer, M-03," said Xela.

Matt managed a quick glare that Set seemed to notice. "He's still awaiting a name?" he said.

"Yes, they're not certain if he is leadership material or not," said Xela.

"Hmm...well, the Atlanteans seem to be planning something. They've moved some sort of station into orbit. Our...allies are planning to attack it. We are to take Blackwing Bay while they are distracted, cut off the cheetah clans from aiding their allies," said Set

"That hardly seems like a fair fight," said Xela, "The cheetahs are no match for us."

"In melee, no. But their archers will make taking Warfang far harder," said Set .

"Yes, those annoying little arrows," said Xela, apparently remembering something uncomfortable.

"Rumors are the Atlanteans are planning to lend them their staff weapons. I think they may be more than annoying then," said Set, turning to leave before sighing, "I'm sorry, Xela...this whole thing..."

"I know, all we want is our freedom and we're just handing the chains over to someone else," said Xela sadly.

"For now, we owe them..." said Set before Matt snapped "Bullshit! These guys'll stab you in the back as soon as you've finished helping them."

Set looked surprised before giving Xela a suspicious look. "Xela, who is this newcomer really?" he demanded.

"He's the one your team brought in, during the raid on Warfang," said Xela with a defeated tone .

"Ah yes, the one with the unusual kidnappers," said Set.

"That was my friend and family," snapped Matt, lunging at Set before, after a few clouded seconds, found himself against the far wall upside down with one of his horns on fire and Set calmly cleaning his paw as if nothing had happened.

"Sloppy," Set said calmly .

"That was just a slip up," said Matt as he put out his horn.

With that, Matt lunged at Set again who dodged and calmly said, "You seem to treat your element as a blunt instrument..." as he sent a pinpoint blast into Matt's back, between his wings and paralyzing them .

"Ow..." winced Matt, "I'm self-taught, ok?"

"It shows. I heard rumors that the humans were turning their kind into ours, it shows. And if someone doesn't teach you, you will certainly be dead by sundown," said Set calmly as Matt staggered back up .

"What can you show me that I haven't already figured out?" asked Matt.

Set stared closely at Matt, before his eyes blazed and Matt felt like he'd just downed a few dozen cups of coffee. "That for a start," he said .

Matt twitched before saying rapidly, "Yougottashowmethattrickandwhateveryougotwannalearnitwannalearnit."

Set laughed before holding up a paw and grabbing Matt's head. Matt's eyes crossed as he felt Set reaching into his head. Though instead of trying to remove his memories, it felt more like they were being transferred between the ones in his head and the ones in Set's.

He saw what was probably Set's first memory, breaking out a shell to see a sterile crystal room, a Atlantean in a robe staring down at him with a stern and proud look, before flashing to an arena, blood on his claws as another dragon lays dead in front of him, to...an intimate moment with Xela which Matt immediately tried to forget for privacy's sake, then skipped forward, him surrounded by his fellows, happy in a containment arena of some sort before the hatch opens and several Atlanteans came up, forcibly taking a scale sample...shooting another clansmate who tries to intervene before they all start firing, causing terror among the clan...of insectoid creatures suddenly decloaking and attacking the warriors...of one of them introducing itself.

At the same time, Set was looking through Matt's memories, seeing several clips of his life flash by, some of which Xela had already seen, but getting into far more detail as he went. He saw and felt the flames as the Atlantean portal in the museum dragged him and his sister in...of the blurry, a sign of suppressed memories, view in the Atlantean lab as he and his sister were granted their abilities...flashes of the many adventures they'd had...the heat and flames from the exploding building as his sister's death was faked...the sadness and loneliness as he simply wandered...the pain as he realized that his sister was trying to kill him...the joy as he found her again and a different joy as he found love when some creature became like him...he broke contact at that as he realized he was intruding.

Matt shook his head and said, "Can you people please stop going through my head?"

"Clan share everything. I had to see if you were telling the truth...and that you were not just another assassin sent from the Atlanteans," said Set sternly .

"Yeah, well, I'm not really 100% clan, you know," said Matt.

"For now, at least," said Set with relish, "But you know the truth, don't you?"

"That wasn't fixed?" whimpered Matt.

Set laughed darkly. "Oh no, no it's not. This is what happens when you take what was never yours to start with," he said. Matt sighed gloomily and Set said, "Oh, don't be so glum. It's quite an honor to be a plasma dragon. And you'll be able to bear many strong children. Though I'm not sure why you'd pick a different clan for that."

Matt glared at that before smirking angrily. "Really? Why would you pick a medic as a soldier?" he sneered .

Set cleared his throat a bit uncomfortably and said, "I think we can agree that we need not discuss too much about our shared memories."

"No, I think not. I want out. Xela got Xiuh out of my head and I'm grateful...but I gotta get out of here," said Matt, nodding in agreement.

"Right, back to your rightful time period, is that right?" said Set.

"Yes...yeah," said Matt, dreading the next question from Xela. "Do we win...do we get to go free?"

"Well...eventually...your children will definitely live free," said Matt.

Xela looked happy at that, Set not sharing the smile as he glared at Matt. Matt wasn't going to deflate Xela's hopes about the future. Besides, it might not be a complete lie. One of their descendants probably would still be alive.

Set seemed to sense this, nodding slightly before he said, "I think you need to learn..." before Matt interrupted, "Nope, I'm leaving."

"Matt, there's still a lot more to teach you," said Set.

"Put it on audio tapes, I don't have time to wait," said Matt as headed out. Set sighed before hitting Matt with a stun blast.

Meanwhile the others were hardly any better off, Chloe sitting in shackles in human form, a half dragon Shar-Khan standing across from her. "Ok, let's start again. You seem to have classified tech that is still in the prototype stage from the tech guild...and you won't say how you got it or even admit to having it," she said, in a bored tone .

"Have what?" asked Chloe, annoyingly.

Another voice said, "You have _my_ nanotech inside you. Amazing seeing it was being produced locally." Chloe turning her head to see Alayshia standing in the doorway

Barely a second passed before Chloe transformed and lunged herself at Alayshia, claws and fangs bared.

Sadly she didn't get far as her cuffs blazed with energy, causing her to shriek in pain and fall down. "Interesting..." said Alayshia calmly as Chloe spasmed on the floor .

"Perhaps the other one will be more cooperative," said the Shar-Khan.

"Leave...her alone," moaned Chloe weakly.

Alayshia said calmly, "Tough, the nanites in the dark dragoness's blood will be quite useful if I can reactivate them," causing Chloe to struggle again.

"And what about the two...creatures with them?" asked the Shar-Khan.

"Take them to my ship. Their samples were very strange. My laboratory at Atlantis is far better equipped," said Alayshia. Chloe tried to struggle back to her feet, but a lot of strength had been zapped out of her. "Miss Seleni, please take her back to the cells," said Alayshia, pointing to Chloe, Seleni nodding and glaring at Chloe .

"I know what's gonna happen to you..." sang Chloe in an annoying tune, probably a sign that she wasn't fully conscious.

Alayshia turned to look at that. "Hold...what was that?" he said, walking up towards Chloe .

"She's gonna tick off the wrong guy," said Chloe teasingly.

Seleni rolled her eyes and said, "Oh, like that's an astounding prediction."

"Agreed, Seleni seems to upset people easily," said Alayshia .

"You're gonna get it," sang Chloe before Seleni knocked her over the head.

"I'm not going to spend all of guard duty listening to her inane drivel," said Seleni.

"Yes, you are. I have a black dragoness to look at," said Alayshia.

Meanwhile, Mina was not having the slightest bit of fun. She hadn't been able to enjoy one bit of being physically older since the Atlanteans had her shut up in a cage. The experiments were kept nearby in smaller cages and who knew where Aria was.  
The cage itself was made of energy bars that changed to every attempt by her or the experiments to breach the cage. "Does this happen often?" she asked finally to the experiments .

"Every once in a while," said Draco, "But usually, one of the guys shows up and breaks us out."

"Except we're in a different time period than the rest of them," said Contrinus bitterly.

"Oh..." said Mina, hanging her head and yelping as her feet sank into her shadow. She backed up a bit, not wanting to fall in completely. It took her a few seconds to realize that this was something she was supposed to be able to do. She was a shadow dragoness after all. Well, half-shadow dragoness, but she wasn't going to tell the Atlanteans that. She could sink into the shadows and get everyone out. It was something her mother did so that couldn't be hard, right?

Draco seemed to catch onto that. "You could phase out, ok, ok..." he said, mostly to himself, saying "Ok, you need to concentrate."

Mina nodded before putting all her focus into her shadow. After a minute, she opened her eyes and said, "It's not wor-WHOA!" she began, yelping as she fell into her shadow. She didn't quite fall all the way through, her hindquarters still sticking out and wriggling in a rather undignified fashion.

Draco sighed before Mina finally vanished all the way, the shadow weaving around, bouncing off the wall a few times before Mina shot put of it, shuddering and saying weakly. "That was horrible," she said weakly as the door behind her opened and several guards walked in, chatting, before pausing. Mina turned to look at them and sprung to her feet. "Stay back!" she said, "I know how to breathe fire right!"

The guards shrugged, aiming their plasma staffs at her, causing Mina to yelp...before two figures dropped from a vent above, wearing dragon-stylized helmets. "What the Tartarus?" snapped one of the guards before he was brained as one of the newcomers smacked him across the face with a glowing bo staff, the other hitting a second guards in the chest with a kick that auditable cracked his ribs .

"What's going on?" asked Contrinus.

"I think we're being rescued by eco-terrorists," said Draco.

This was quickly disproven as one of the newcomers, in a crouch, span his staff around and fired a plasma orb that killed the last guard. "Xander, get the cells open, we have five minutes," said the first one .

"Wait a second, Xander?" asked Draco, not that anyone paid attention to him.

The figure turned to look before the dragon head broke into segments revealing an African face. "Have we met, little one?" he asked in a Kenyan accent.

Draco kept his tongues in check and said, "No, just thought I knew that name."

Xander looked puzzled. "You have met my partner maybe?" causing Draco to say "Nope never met Mo...never met him...or her...who knows?"

Contrinus said dully, "Real smooth."

"Look, we need to get out of here," said Mina, "My friends are-"

"We know," said the other one, unmistakably Morgan by his voice, "We're getting you out first."

"The council sent us in as we had suspicions of illegal weapon research being carried out. The Shar-Khan project was cancelled for a specific reason," said Xander, as he burnt the lock off before turning to glare at Draco who suddenly coughed in shock .

"Er, we're not from here...this planet that is," said Contrinus, "Completely different kind of experiment, more of a pet project really."

"It doesn't matter. The very fact that he's shoved us back into this mess..." said Morgan, stopping to knock out a stirring guard .

"I'm sorry, who's 'he'?" asked Contrinus.

"Alayshia, he's been intent of perfecting that serum...after the first subjects...well..." said Morgan . Draco and Contrinus tried not to show their shock. They've heard that name plenty of times by now, namely being cursed by Kala.

"Clear," said Xander, peering round the corner.

Mina however said "Where's Matt and Chloe?! "

Draco and Contrinus both winced a bit before Morgan asked, "Who are they?"

"Chloe's one of the dragonesses that has been captured," said Draco, "And Matt's the plasma dragon we were arrested for 'harboring'."

"Urgh, we heard rumors. The plasma dragon project was never authorized," said Morgan gloomily, Xander adding "Another team at their...hive is preparing a DNA bomb."

"What's a DNA bomb?" asked Draco.

"It'll eradicate any unshielded plasma dragons and any Ashen on the planet," said Morgan calmly .

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, isn't that, you know, genocide?" protested Draco.

"They are weapons," said Morgan a little coldly .

"They are living creatures, sentient beings," said Contrinus, "You can't blame them for the reason they were made."

"They've already eradicated the metal dragon clan and reduced the dark dragons down to barely 200," said Xander, a sad tone in his voice, "They are convinced the other rare clans mean them ill and believe they are getting in their defense first. The fact Alayshia tried to eradicate them once already has not helped."

"They're being misled," said Contrinus, "If they were commanded by someone who wasn't so obviously warlike, they'd be much more civilized towards others."

"That doesn't matter. We have no choice. You should be more grateful, our contact had no reason to tell us about you," said Morgan.

"Of course we're grateful," said Contrinus, "We'll be even more grateful when all of us are together again. But that doesn't mean we agree if everything you're doing. You'll be slaughtering innocent dragons, even their eggs."  
"The DNA bombs will not harm unhatched young. We're setting up a rehabilitation facility," said Morgan .

"Oh...I see," said Contrinus, having gotten so caught up in the moment she had forgotten the plasma dragon history that they had been given.

"Come on," said Xander, finally losing his cool a bit as they walked round a corner, Morgan firing two blasts at apparent shadows, two guards slumping down.

"We have another companion," said Draco, "A robot dragon."

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "Ex-military, hated being used as a weapon, ran off and joined with us," explained Contrinus.

"Oh that, she broke out and headed for plasma territory within 20 minutes," said Xander with an amused grin .

"Sounds like her," said Draco, not surprised.

"Well..." began Morgan, opening the door in time for a brown dragoness to be thrown out the cell . Once again, the two experiments had to feign shock, namely because this dragoness was quite, quite dead in their proper time.

Chloe was inside the room. "SELENI! I'm gonna turn you into a damn handbag."

Draco desperately tried to send a psychic message to Chloe, _'Chloe, you can't do that. She needs to live today so Matt can kill her in the future, remember?'_  
A voice said, _'I'm sorry...the mind you have dialed is currently marinated in UNRELENTING FURY...please hang up and try again later.'_

Draco blinked and tweaked his horns. "What am I picking up?" he questioned out loud.

_'This is the mind of Miss Lynch...and she is PISSED OFF!'_ said the voice, before Draco's eyes crossed and he found himself gnawing on Seleni's leg .

Contrinus facepalmed and muttered, "I am so embarrassed."

Seleni glared at her contacts. "Get this industrial saboteur off me!" she snapped .

"Sure, sure, once she's settled down a bit," said Morgan, clearly in no real rush.

Once Chloe had been calmed down, she was still not really in the mood to listen too much. "So, you aren't the...Seleni I know. So tell me why you look like her...and why I shouldn't maul you."

"How should I know about that other Seleni?" snapped Seleni, "But I think mauling one of the Shar-Khan who's freeing you is a very poor show of gratitude."

"Fine, we get my brother, then we are gone...and I never see you again," snapped Chloe .

"I'll be happy to forget you," said Seleni snidely.

The door opened at that, and a far younger-looking Taleth stomped in. "Morgan, I thought you shadow warriors were supposed to be stealthy," he snapped, not noticing the gang at first .

"We are, we haven't tripped off one alarm, have we?" asked Morgan pointedly.

"Yes...but corpses in the jail tend to cause notice," snapped Taleth before finally noticing the experiments and dragons. "Oh...and there they are," he said sarcastically .

Chloe just gave a sullen growl. "She has spirit, I'll give her there. Is there a reason for this little gathering?" said Taleth shortly .

"It would appear that this...unusual company is well-acquainted with a plasma dragon and want to find him," said Xander diplomatically.

"Hmm...and how would you know a plasma dragon?" said Taleth suspiciously .

"We're good friends and that ought to be good enough a reason for anyone," said Contrinus .

"You're 'friends' with a combat grade bio weapon," said Seleni pointedly, adding, "No offense but see this from our point of view. We hardly know you."

"We care more about _who_ he is than what he is," said Draco, "Anyways, we're not planning on starting any fights here. We'd rather just go where none of these Atlantean guys could ever find us."

"Well, as I said, that will be hard. The plasma dragons and their Ashen allies kill any intruders on sight," said Seleni .

"The Ashen are here?!" asked almost everyone, only Mina looking clueless.

"Of course, we've been at war with them for 20 years," said Morgan, sounding a little surprised at the outburst .

"Who are the Ashen?" whispered Mina to Chloe.

"We'll tell you later," whispered Chloe, "But you're getting an extra week of grounding for messing up the time portal."

Mina just groaned as Taleth said, "The best you all can do is get off-world as soon as possible."

"We'll manage something like that," said Chloe.

"You don't understand. Your friend is a lost cause. In 48 hours, he will be genetic goo," said Morgan

"Just give me 48 minutes and I'll have them begging us to take him away and he won't dare say a word against us," said Chloe.

"48 minutes? That's pretty slow for you," said Draco.

"I'd like to take my time," said Chloe with ghoulish relish.

"Good, they'll kill you in three. I don't know what you are used to but these dragons will kill you as soon as they see you...and they will see you," said Taleth calmly .

"It's the Ashen that I have more reason to worry about than the plasma dragons," said Chloe, "Kala would probably be a lot more direct. Where is she anyways?"

"In a cell, waiting for examination after she tried to tear Alayshia's head off," said Morgan .

"Ah, I thought she wouldn't react well to him," said Contrinus.

"Well there is little we can do for her for now. All we can do is find your friend," said Taleth.

The group looked rather surprised. "You're helping us? Just like that?" asked Draco.

"Of course," said Taleth, sounding a little hurt .

"Ok, it's just we weren't expected it to be given so...freely," said Contrinus a little hesitatingly.

"We've seen what happened to Alayshia's failures," said Seleni darkly .

"You ain't seen nothing yet," muttered Draco under his breath.

Contrinus slapped at that, saying, "Ex-nay."

"In any case," said Chloe loudly, "If our mechanical friend is doing what I think she'd doing, getting Matt back won't be as hard a challenge as we're thinking it'll be."

"It might, metal has a melting point," said Taleth darkly .

"She has a pretty advanced processor," said Chloe.

"Like I said, she can still melt. We should hurry, but first we need an excuse to get you out of Warfang," said Taleth .

Meanwhile, Matt was trying to get out of the Ashen camp. Fortunately, he had some help regarding that. "Remember, don't talk, don't even breathe loudly. If anyone asks, you're my apprentice, Anuka," said Set calmly . Matt nodded, trying to do it as dumbly as possible.

"And let's be clear, until we can smuggle you out, you _are_ my apprentice. In fact, you are going to your first lesson," said Set calmly.

"Ooh, what's that?" asked Matt.

"Finesse," said Set calmly, the two walking past the last perimeter wall into a field.

"Er, I know I usually stick my foot in my mouth, but is this really the time to work on that?" asked Matt.

"It will be if you do not want to be spotted by the rest of the clan," said Set calmly, a small flower becoming engulfed in a weak plasma field and levitated over. "Copy what I did...and the flower has to be intact," said Set smugly .

"Er, ok," said Matt before concentrating. Not surprisingly, the flower he picked burst into flames.

Set growled a little at that before saying, "Again."

The next attempt didn't light a fire outright, but it quickly browned and crisped.

Set snarled at that. "You're not even trying...again," he snapped .

Matt put more will into it and the next flower actually exploded. "No, no, no! Can you do anything besides destruction?!" snapped Set.

"Of course not, mercs are usually in government service," snapped Matt.

Set growled before saying, "Plasma is more than a weapon. It is not a fire that burns without limit. It is light in its most solid form, something that can be molded and held without destroying."

"Really? Usually it's only used for blowing things up or powering the starship," snapped Matt, making the mistake of getting in Set's face

Set's eyes flashed brightly, briefly blinding Matt. "Our kind is born with a unique gift, yet you wield it more bluntly than the other dragons use their elements. You claim that we should not be weapons to be used by others, yet you know nothing about your powers to use them as anything but that," snapped Set.

Matt blundered about a bit, rendered temporarily blind by the flash before saying, "Fine...prove it. Impress me."

"Then watch," said Set. He waited a bit until Matt's eyes were cleared before holding up a paw. His eyes shone brightly before plasma swirled in front of him and became an exact replica of Xela's image. Matt just stared a little at that as the shape became animated, looking up at them both before becoming a fading mist as Set stopped feeding power into it.

"Ok, I'm impressed," said Matt finally .

"We are children of the light, we can shape the light and give substance. You can do so much more than burn and explode," said Set, "For instance..." The plasma took the form of a translucent wall and Set said, "Try to break through as hard as you can, just using your body."

Matt looked around before taking a few steps back and charging at the wall . Despite its seeming-intangibleness, the wall quite solid when Matt ran into it. In fact, it felt like he popped his shoulder.

"See?" said Set smugly as Matt slid down the wall with a squeaking noise, muttering "I hate you."

"You can achieve this as well if you stop seeing plasma as only a weapon," said Set.

Matt glared before closing his eyes and concentrating, his paw palm up before a flickering headshot of Kala appeared, though it was barely holding together and all she was capable of saying was 'narf'.

Set gave the image a dubious look before saying, "Well, look on the bright side, most can't achieve the resonance to create sound the first time." Matt glared before losing his concentration, the image flickering and vanishing .

"That was a substantial milestone considering your near-exclusive martial knowledge of your powers," said Set, "But you must keep practicing. This could very well save your life someday."

"How? I can shock and awe them with a TV show?" snapped Matt .

There was a flash of light before there were suddenly three Sets in front of Matt. "You might need a good distraction at some point," said all three of them at the same time.  
Matt glared, losing his cool and spitting a plasma blast at the middle set. That one disappeared before the plasma blast hit it. "Care to guess again?" asked the other two.

Matt glared at that before spitting a blast at the left one...and being hit in the side by the right one. "See? A distraction can buy a plasma dragon valuable time," he explained .

"There is a way..." said Set from behind him.

Matt jumped and snapped, "Will you knock it off with the illusions already?"

A second later, a pair of paws grabbed his horns, Set's voice saying "Share with me." in an echoing voice.

"Didn't we agree...not...to..." started Matt before his face went blank as Set made contact with his mind.

"This is how we teach...with pure bloods...with a human...who knows?" said Set's voice seemingly from everywhere

"So long as you don't mess with my memories and stuff, I'm open to suggestions," replied Matt, though it was hard to tell for him if it was out loud or not.

A second later, he spasmed as years of skills flooded his mind, Matt feeling his body shifting back to similar to Xiuh's again, though this time without the psychotic ego that usually came along . After a bit, Set separated from Matt's mind and said proudly, "Now you look like a proper plasma dragon."

Matt staggered back, managing "Blarg." as he tried to get his mind back in order .

"Disorientation's normal, though you might a more extended case since you had to learn so much," said Set.

Matt staggered over to look a little gloomily at what he had a feeling was a permanent 'Xiuh' look. "Don't be too alarmed. You were barely a teenage plasma dragon. Now it is balanced out for your old human age," said Set.

"What? I thought I was fully grown," said Matt.

"You hadn't completely left the adolescent age yet," said Set, "Physical maturity is hardly exact between species."

"Aw man," groaned Matt before a voice at the gate said "I thought I ordered Xela to condition him for combat."

"This one had a bit of a learning impairment," said Set, "I stepped in to fill in the gaps."

"No need. A blade hardly needs any knowledge of those that it is stabbed at," snapped Darkans, Matt growling without realizing it . "Get him ready for battle or he'll be labeled as a reject," snapped Darkans.

"Yeah? And what happens to rejects?" demanded Matt.

"We eat them," said Darkans. Matt paused at that, many things fighting for dominance at that before whimpering was decided on. Darkans turned to Set and snapped, "Get him ready," before leaving.

Set growled at Darkans left before he said, "I guess they sent more of the clan to die in another failed attack."

"They're bugs, you know. It's just like bees and ants: the hive sends out swarms of drones that throw themselves at the enemy until it's gone and then their fatass queen produces some new drones to take their place," said Matt. Matt paused, looked around, and asked, 'No one overheard the 'fatass queen' part, did they?"

"They have bad hearing," said Set in amusement before sighing, "I cannot let Xela raise her eggs here."

"Of course not," said Matt, "First, they'll condition you to act as their weapons, then they'll start with the cosmetic upgrades." His mind quickly filled up with too many images of creepy insect/dragon hybrids.

Set sighed. "Agreeing to help them was the biggest mistake I ever made," he said sadly, causing Matt to pause in mid-sarcasm, saying any of his usual 'tact' would be rubbing salt into the metaphorical wound .

"Listen, there is a way out of this," said Matt, "You need to talk to the Atlanteans. Not the guys who have been trying to kill you, the real guys in charge. They care a lot more about created species than their creators."

"Never! They will just use us as weapons too! You are a living example!" snapped Set .

"Not everybody wants weapons. Ok, most people wants weapons, but really, it's your best option. I'd like to help you guys find some distant corner of the world where you can live free, but these guys can outfly us," said Matt.

"That and the planet's orbit is a warzone. No ship would get out even if we had one," said Set sadly.

Matt sighed and said, "Look, it might not be the upmost ideal, but I think the Atlantean command is your best option. They can at least preserve your eggs so they won't be smashed."

"I will not accept being killed just because I am 'inconvenient'!" snapped Set .

"BUT THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE IF YOU DON'T PROVE YOU'RE MORE THEN A WEAPON!" roared Matt .

Set was about to snap back at Matt before pausing and sighing. "How do you know they would even listen to us?" asked Set, "We're not human like you. They might see us dragons as little more than talking animals."

"If that was the case, would they be working with the Avalarian council?" said Matt.

Set didn't look convinced but then a hail of laser blasts hit his side, knocking him away. Matt looked up to see a robotic dragon hovering overhead. "Quick, before he gets back up," said Aria, "We have to go."

Matt blinked before yelling, "YOU MORON, ARIA!"

"Matt, he was about to attack you," said Aria, "He is in league with the Dark Ones."

"He's scared. Atlantean command's been trying to exterminate them," snapped Matt .

"And they're soon going to be doing a more extensive job of doing that," said Aria.

"What?" said Matt in a small voice .

"A DNA bomb is going to be dropped that will liquidate every plasma dragon not in an egg," said Aria, "My scans indicate that you have recovered from your mental ailment, even though your physical form has not yet altered. We must find the others and return to our proper time."

Matt looked back at Set before looking back at Aria, "Not a chance."

"Matt, you cannot alter history. You have no idea what the repercussions will be for this entire planet, let alone yourself," said Aria.

"I'm not going to allow mass genocide!" snapped Matt .

"It is not genocide," said Aria, "The eggs will be preserved and sent off to the El Dorado base where you will encounter them. If you change that, you could undo yourself."

"No...only the eggs have to go," said Matt, turning and dealing a slash to her main wing servo's

Aria tried to flap her wings, only to get a few sparks from the slash. "You idiot," she said, "How are we supposed to regroup with the others now?"

Matt had already taken off though, headed back for town.

Meanwhile, the other plasma dragons were getting ready for battle. They barely noticed the newcomer until he started tearing up the place. "What the? What are you doing?" snapped a dragoness before screeching in horror as the newcomer seemed to hear something...in the hatchery, blasting the door down and charging inside.

The newcomer quickly blasted apart the monitoring devices that the Ashen had in there before rooting around the eggs. "C'mon, c'mon, where'd they hide them?" he muttered.

"Kill him! He has blood rage!" snapped another dragon, charging forward before pausing as the newcomer carefully carried out an egg, part of its 'shell' knocked away to show glowing crystal circuitry .

"People, I ask that you do not freak out, but this is a bomb that's been placed to wipe us all out," said Matt.  
The dragons stared before all those not in Ashen armor began to naturally freak out, the 'warriors' readying blasts.

"People can you please quiet down?" called Matt, "I'm trained in demolitions, I know how to disarm a bomb. But if you're gonna freak out anyways, can you at least take it out on the guys who are about to shoot us?"

A few of the panicking dragons turned at that, one running up to a male warrior and saying, "Banira, it's me, they're trying to help-" she began before the warrior blasted her. Quite naturally, this was the part where the cauldron of hostility boiled over. After a brief pause to realize what happened, the plasma dragons soon started attacking their enslaved counterparts and the Ashen warriors present.

During all of this, Matt was trying to work on the bomb. He jumped as an explosion went off nearby, swearing to himself. "Come on...come on…" he said, the crystals inside starting to flash with a rising hum.

The commotion of the fighting, however, was putting too much pressure on his concentration so he stoop up and roared "QUIET!" as loudly as he could. Surprisingly, it made everyone pause in the middle of their brawl to stare at him. "Thank you," said Matt before working on the bomb again.

He winced as the flashing almost became unbearable before simply slapping it. "TURN OFF, YOU STUPID PIECE OF-"only for the bomb to say 'Shar clearance verified...disarming." causing Matt to twitch

Matt lifted his head and said, "Ok, bomb's disarmed, proceed with the fighting." He thought this over before blasting a nearby Ashen.

By the time Aria arrived on foot, she was not in a very pleased mood, slapping aside a dragon who tried to stop her entering before snapping "CAPTAIN!"

Matt looked from an Ashen he had tearing at like a terrier dealing with a rat. "Oh, Aria, there you are. You got any mouthwash or chewing gum?" asked Matt before spitting.

"You temporal paradox causing MORON! Didn't the chaos on...that town not teach you what happens when you piss around with the universe?" she snapped.

"Relax, I've already figured out the loophole we're gonna use," said Matt.

"No, that is enough. Give me that bomb so I can rearm it," snapped Aria, holding out a paw and looking at it with annoyance as a dragon bit it off .

"I'll reset it later once we've evacuated the keepers," said Matt.

"That's enough. You're clearly cured, at least mentally. You should know that a subject matching the description of Kala is about to be taken offworld," said Aria calmly, adding, "Atlantean transmissions here are not encoded."

"Ok, we're stepping up the schedule. Set, gather up the ones who still have their personalities. Xela, check up on the eggs, make sure they'll be fine when the Atlanteans get here. We're leaving in five minutes," said Matt before turning to Aria and saying, "I never told you how I ended up establishing the Atlanteans that are on Avalar, have I?"

"I read the file," said Aria before pausing, "No...No, I forbid it."

"Trust me, it'll be a lot better this way," said Matt.

"No, I refuse to be a part of altering the timeline," said Aria.

"Say Aria, which part of you has the time beacon in it?" asked Matt.

"Like I'm going to tell-" started Aria before a laser-precise blast severed her head from her body. Of course, being a robot, that was merely a great inconvenience. "I hate you," she grumbled as Xela picked her up.

Morgan peered round a corner out to where Kala was being taken to a waiting transport. "Ok, we need to be smart about this," he said.

"Anyone else feels like just rushing them, grabbing Kala, and legging it?" asked Draco.

"Of course, that will just get you killed," said Taleth smoothly, pointing out the guards in the shadows .

"Oh, is that all?" asked Mina, "I can take them out."

"Of course, attack the troopers trained to fight dragons," smirked Seleni .

"So what are you guys suggesting?" asked Contrinus.

"Follow my lead," said Taleth, getting up.

...

The Atlantean troopers were just starting to load Kala in when a voice called, "Hold, we've got more prisoners to transport." They turned to see Taleth with several unusual dragons and what looked like a phoenix.

Dr. Alayshia looked over at that. "Is this a joke, warleader? I already have shadow dragon DNA," he said loftily, looking Mina over who glared .

"I think she might be more than just a shadow dragoness," said Seleni, "I've looked at her genetic makeup and I believe she's of mixed parentage."

"Oh? We take a sample, administer a mindwipe and throw her back. Why bring her here?" Alayshia snapped, before saying, "Oh wait...I know."

"What?" asked Xander.

"Well, would it be because you are reporting to the Atlantean science commission?" said Alayshia, pressing a crystal on his wrist computer.

"What are you-" started Morgan before he and the other Shar-Khan froze.  
Kala and Chloe also doubled up as Alayshia said, "You think I would make something without a failsafe?" he snapped angrily .

"You're going to be in a lot of trouble," growled Mina.

"No, I'm not. My invention just eradicated the Ashen fleet in orbit and my DNA eradicator prototype dealt with those plasma mistakes," said Alayshia

"What?!" yelled Mina, Draco, and Contrinus at the same time.

"They're just experiments, remnants of a eugenics experiment that the sun clan did," said Alayshia with a bored tone.

"They were dragons with family," growled Mina.

"They were a failed experiments, nothing more," said Alayshia calmly .

Mina snarled and her eyes started to glow white. "Uh oh, that's not good," said Contrinus.

"Kill her," said Alayshia, nodding to a guard who aimed his plasma staff at Mina and fired, Mina wincing in reflex, before opening her eye to see the orb floating in the air in front of her before it shot backwards into the chest of the shooter.

The sound of several dragons roaring made them look up to see over a dozen plasma dragons flying at them. "Shoot them...SHOOT THEM!" snapped Alayshia, running for his shuttle as his men began firing . Of course, most of the guards forgotten their weapons were plasma-based until their shots did a U-turn and came right back at them.

One dragon landed, smashing the device Alayshia had used, and which he had discarded to escape . The frozen Shar-Khan staggered as their paralysis dropped while Kala and Chloe were able to sit back up. "That...was unpleasant," said Chloe.

"Little jerk..." muttered Taleth, looking up at Alayshia's vanishing ship.

"He'll get what's coming to him one of these days," growled Kala.

"He will once we catch him, but there remains the problem of them," said Taleth calmly, looking at the plasma dragons, Matt apparently leading them .

"Don't worry, they're friendly...I hope," said Draco.

'Matt' glared, approaching Draco and co before, just as he was looming over them, his face cracked into a smile and he said, "Hi, guys."

"Matt, you got your brain fixed," said Draco, "How'd that happen?"

"Tribe secret," said Matt, without thinking before shaking his head .

"Ok, so, are we ready to head home?" asked Contrinus before looking at the other dragons and adding, "And are they coming along?"

"Yes they are. The eggs will go into Atlantean custody like history says...and as far as everyone's concerned, these guys died," said Matt quietly .

"Oh, ok," said Contrinus, "Where's Aria?"

Matt held up a mechanical dragon head that said icily, "Not one word."

"Uh, how are we supposed to get back without the rest of her?" asked Draco.

"The beacon's in my head," sighed Aria, rolling her optics .

"In that case, let's get going," said Chloe as she took care of Kala's restraints.

Kala just waited till the restraints were off before she tackled Matt, hugging him with her forearms. "You're back," she sobbed happily .

"Yes, yes, I'm back...and losing consciousness..." gasped Matt.

Kala let go with a happy smile as Set glared. "It seems you were not lying," he said, as Aria began to charge up the beacon.

"Wait a minute, what about the eggs, we can't leave the eggs," protested Xela.

"Don't worry," said Matt, "You'll see them again really soon."

Taleth nodded. "They'll be perfectly safe," he assured, he, Morgan, Xander, and Seleni stepping back .

"The other dragons and Ashen have already been taken care of," said Matt, "Nobody's gonna notice these guys missing."

"As far as I'm concerned, Mr. Traveler, you all died thanks to the traitor, Dr. Alayshia," said Taleth calmly . Matt paused to look at Taleth and Seleni but wisely decided not to say anything to them. A second later, everything seemed to warp...

Morgan sighed, looking at the jumpgate. It had been several hours since Mina had damaged the warp. "Warleader, we have an incoming," a technician said .

"Is it them?" asked Morgan.

"It might be, but it seems to be a larger mass," said the technician.

"Shit, all security teams, go to alert status. I want everyone ready just in case," said Morgan angrily as the portal blazed into life .

All the available guards scrambled to get in position as the portal glowed brighter. "Arrival in 5...4...3...2...1..."

The first thing to pop out was Aria's head, followed by Chloe and Kala, the former saying urgently, "Hold your fire...friendlies." before a dozen or so plasma dragons fell through, followed by the experiments .

An unknown shadow dragoness was next, but her form soon shrank down into the more familiar form of Mina.

"Ok...what the hell is going on?" snapped Morgan as the last one, Matt, fell through .

"Oh, we had a little detour, but we got what we wanted and we found a couple of guys who need a new time period to live in," said Matt casually.

"You...I...urgh…" moaned Morgan.

"Trust me, they're a lot more manageable than the other plasma dragons we have," said Matt.

"The council will blow a gasket," said Morgan gloomily .

"They learned to deal with you guys, they can deal with them," said Matt.

"On your head be it," said Morgan, angry complaints coming from the newcomers

Matt then turned to the other plasma dragons and said, "Now then, I'm sure you all want to find your families again. Just follow me and I'll show them to you."

The gang, minus Matt and Kala, watched from the sidelines as the plasma dragon group moved among what could technically be called their descendants, a few actually sobbing as they found dead ringers for lost family. Matt and Kala were in the center of them since Kala was still reigning chieftain.

"Pretty clever way to circumvent history," said Kala, "I'm really happy for them."

"We managed it with Morgan," said Matt happily before the two stepped back as Set came up.

"The others say you two are the leader," said Set, a little accusingly .

"Well, I'm practically destined to," said Matt a bit boastfully before Kala said, "You're supposed to be patriarch, but we both know who's leading, right?"

"Yes, dear," said Matt meekly.

"A fire dragoness cannot lead us..." began Set before Xela butted in.

"Indeed, it's the mates jobs to make...suggestions that are acted on," she said, winking at Kala .

"Of course," said Kala smugly, "After all, what is a leader without his confident?"

"Yes, dear," said Matt and Set in unison .

Just then, Dexex came over to Matt and said, "Lord Xiuhtecuhtli, I'm so glad you have returned." Kala growled a bit at this.

"It's Matt. My names Matt," said Matt, as kindly as he could .

"But Xiuhtecuhtli is-" started Dexex.

"Gone, forever," said Matt, "I'm not just a dragon, I'm human. I can be a plasma dragon most of the time, but I'm not letting go of my humanity."  
Dexex hung her head sadly at that before Xela walked up. "You look familiar," she said curiously .

"Really? We couldn't have met," said Dexex.

"But you remind me of someone..." said Xela as he looked the other dragoness over.

"Like I said, we have never met," said Dexex primly .

"But you look so much like...my sister!" said Xela in sudden realization, she turned to Set and asked, "You remember her, right?"

"Yes, she was one who chose to serve the Dark Ones more fully," said Set ruefully before looking at Dexex and adding thoughtfully, "Though her eyes seem a little more like mine..."

Dexex just looked confused at that as Xela said "Her egg was left behind." in a small voice

"Yeah, this is the future, remember?" said Matt, "The eggs weren't destroyed, they were stored on a distant world. The natives had hatched a few and, well, we're exactly the best role models, but we brought all the dragons and the eggs that hadn't been hatched yet back here, so she might be your egg. Or more likely, descended from that one."

Dexex just tilted her head before saying, "We're family?"

"It's possible," said Kala, "But if there's one thing I've learned, it's that family means a lot more than simple blood connections. It's about love and caring. A simple DNA test can confirm whether or not you're related, but I don't think anyone could stop you from being a family anyways."

Dexex seemed to have decided already, snuggling Xela who looked close to tears herself .

Set turned to Matt and said, "You have gifted us with something far greater than we can ever hope to repay. You have our eternal gratitude." After a moment, he added a little dryly, "I suppose I can permit you to court her if you ever change your mind about Kala."  
Kala's fireball blackened his face at that, though he started laughing, saying, "I was wrong. I like her. She should have been born to the clan."

Kala gave a smug and haughty look and said, "Of course I could. I have beaten the best challengers this clan could offer." Several cheerful voices were heard at that, causing Kala to blanch in horror before taking off at speed, just as the hatchlings came into view, spreading out to go to their parents .

Set, Xela, and Dexex gave Matt a confused look. "Kala tried to be their substitute teacher/nanny, it apparently didn't end well," said Matt.

This resulted in laughter from the trio, though Matt still looked concerned. He had his hearing in a few days and no doubt by now, Spyro had heard about Mina's misadventure, and Xiuh's part in it.

Spyro was still fuming over the whole thing. Sure, it might have been partially Mina's fault, but the others should have done a better job of reeling her in. How was he supposed to trust them if they couldn't keep his daughter safe?

He was made angrier by how the file said that Matt had lured her onto the platform. He could only barely hear Zara next to him, saying, "Isn't that report proof enough that they are dangerous? And consider that's one of the crewmembers that are most like us. The others are even less predictable and more untrustworthy. This world would be much safer if they weren't here."

"They helped me save Avalar," snapped Spyro, before stopping at Zara pointed out "After they placed it in peril. Even the generals would still be imprisoned if that fool had not come here."

"I think I've heard enough," growled Spyro, "The council will be assembling soon so try to make it at least fair instead of a, what do the humans say, kangaroo court? What is a kangaroo anyways?"

"Those animals on the southern islands apparently," said Zara icily, before adding, "Your daughter was lucky this time. Luck rarely lasts forever," before leaving

Spyro growled before saying, "Yes, I can see that now..."

* * *

There's the other half to last week's chapter. Once again, the gang had to deal with time travel, unexpected intricacies, potential corruption, but manged to come through and circumvent destiny at the same time. This ought to make Matt's mind more stable, but will it make his situation more stable? Find out next week with the update. Please review.


	7. Alpha Release

**Voyagers Saga**

**The Sundered World**

**Chapter 7: Alpha Release**

Matt was not in a happy mood. This was the day that the council decided if they were gonna toss him to the wolves or not and given that Mina had apparently been forbidden from going anywhere near him or the others was a sign that Spyro at least was not in a good mood...and despite anything Spyro intended, the other dragon councilors would agree with the opinion of the dragon of destiny. Though he suspected there would be at least one who would vote against him regardless, but that wasn't much of a surprise.

Two dragon guards were escorting him to the council chambers to face the music. To his personal worry, they'd insisted rather forcibly that he go in human form. However that last part was a bit of a problem. Apparently when Set had done his 'flash-training', he had accidentally locked Matt's human form. But at least he could assume anthro form.

With that in mind, he was frogmarched into the council chamber, Matt getting to a mental count of 5 before the councilor appointed by Zara snapped, "Is this a joke? Can you not follow a single order?"

"I'm having technical difficulty with that order," said Matt dryly.

"No excuses..." began the councilor before Xander, another councilor for the Atlantean side, said "Enough, Ashka, there is indeed a technical difficulty and I think we can allow it this once."

"In any case, we've summoned him here for a more important reason," said Cyril, "We're here to judge whether his mental health is at an acceptable state to command."

Ashka immediately said, "It's quite clear he is not. Every time he has come here, he has brought death and destruction. The Atlanteans are our old allies, this human and his primitive ilk are not."

"He has also aided us when our world is in peril," said Terrador, "And he personally attempts to fix whatever problems he's caused."

"Problems he has caused. Tell me, noble guardian. Who was it who brought General Striker back to this world and set in motion the events that resulted in the others release?" said Ashka with a smug tone .

"Striker had reformed by the time that Matt had released him," said Terrador, "It was Avarona who was responsible for the others' releases."

"Needless to say though, the other generals would not have been released had he not come," sneered Ashka, running Terrador's argument into a wall .

"I find it unfairly absurd that you can attribute every antagonist's actions to a single human's simple mistakes, related to circumstances and events of which he could not possibly be fully knowledgeable of or completely comprehend," said Volteer.

"Spyro's brief inhabitation by the Dark Master springs to mind, all Mr. Lynch's idea," said Ashka smugly, causing Matt to hang his head as that event came back to his memory . There was a murmur of agreement from some of the other councilors.

Ashka turned to the other councilors. "Mr. Lynch and his men are a danger to everyone on this planet. Do we wait till our loved ones are the 'next problem' he has to solve?" he said .

"I would never do that!" snapped Matt.

"Yet your actions say different," sneered Ashka .

"Hey, I make my fair share of mistakes, but I know when I'm doing something inarguably wrong. And I would never knowingly do that," snapped Matt.

"Then you are cursed and just as dangerous," said Ashka mercilessly .

"That is enough, Councilor Ashka," said Xander sternly, "We are here to give a fair hearing, not listen to you badger him the entire time."

"My brother died when his enemies bombed Warfang and my sister during the second battle of Warfang," snapped Ashka, adding, "I will not see him be the cause of any more lives lost."

"Oh, pardon me, I didn't realize I was the Horseman of War or something," said Matt sarcastically.

"I don't know what that means but you are dangerous," snapped Ashka, before saying, "That said, I don't propose we hand him over to the NSC, I propose we simply exile him offworld."

The way Ashka had been badgering on, Matt was expecting something worse, like being executed here. What was heard however was worse. It was Spyro's voice saying "I second the proposal." The only dragons that didn't seem to be likely to agree where Cyril, Volteer, Terrador, and Xander, though the first two seemed to be swaying towards the other side.

An Atlantean councilor said after a minute, "The motion carries and will be voted on in 3 hours..." before everyone jumped as the city alarm sounded.

"Now what?" snapped Ashka, "More invaders following him?"

The Atlantean councilor was listening to someone though. "It's a NSC fleet. They identify themselves as DARKRIFT and are ordering rebel ships to escort them in. They're complying," he said sternly .

"What is this 'Darkrift'?" asked Cyril.

"Don't ask," said Matt grimly .

"Considering they're about to land on our planet, I think we have the right to ask," said Ashka sharply.

"I...I don't know. There's rumors...I've seen them kill things that shrug off nukes," said Matt .

The dragons exchanged glances that were as concerned as they were confused. However, Morgan said, "This being the case, I move that we hold off on Lynch's verdict until we've settled this new matter." Ashka glared at Matt before nodding reluctantly.

About half an hour later, the gang was at the dock seeing the Darkrift ship come in. It was a rather unusual design, looking a lot like a giant flying spearhead. The ships flying alongside them were more familiar, black colored NSC omega destroyers. A shuttle had already landed and a suited splitter was striding out towards the councilors. "Commander Angelus, DARKRIFT special containment division. I am sorry to announce that, after we were forced to hand over out containments, we were forced to cut all ties with the NSC. We are not here to stay but we need 72 hours to rendezvous with our remaining vessels," he said calmly, in a tone that did not expect objection .

"Is that really all you need?" asked Morgan dubiously.

"That is all. We have fallback sites," said Angelus smugly.

"And what is it that you're transporting?" asked Morgan.

"Things that you do not want to see. I will require mercenary units to flesh out the perimeter and a secure building to store them while we repair combat damage to our containment facilities," said Angelus, causing Ashka to start losing his temper from the apparent rudeness

"We have enough problems to deal with right now without you lot dropping in!" snapped Ashka, "So you can just fly off somewhere else and use another planet for your rest stop!"

The others paused as Ashka seemed to freeze in place, before Angelus said simply, "Go jump in the park lake."

Ashka saying in a faint voice, "Sure, why not?" before walking off with pinpricked eyes.

"I didn't know splitters had psychics," said Kala.

"There's alot of things you don't know," said Angelus with a smug tone as several force cells were sent out. Some had medallions or random junk in them...others had animals even. One of the later contained what looked like a large wolf, but Matt was pretty sure it was more than that.

"Is that a werewolf?" he asked as he pointed.

"Lycan from the 'flu' outbreak on Backblade Station," said Angelus.

"Ooh, a werewolf, big deal," said Matt.

"An alpha werewolf," corrected Angelus, "Quite likely a patient zero that's capable of spreading its infection quite rapidly."

Spyro was looking at another cage and asked, "Why do you have one of your kind in this cage?"

Angelus turned and gave the cage a dark look. "That is not one of my race," he said tersely.  
Spyro jumped back as the 'splitter' jumped forward, Spyro spotting a note saying 'Sy Yong infected, observational subject'.

"You brought one of those here?!" snapped Matt.

"If we're to make a cure that doesn't dissolve them, we need to see the infection," said Angelus before smirking. "And here comes the star of DARKRIFT: Subject Alpha. Found her 2 years ago near the uncharted sectors," he said, as a containment cell was pushed forward, a sullen chimera/Jabberwock creature inside it . Surprisingly, Matt's face went very pale when he saw the creature's horse-like face.

"You've met the creature? She's a XK class, capable of apparently warping reality in the local vicinity, hence the heavy shielding," said Angelus calmly, the creature raising its head and fixing an eye on Matt, before it began grinning insanely .

"Oh, Matt, it's been such a loooooong time," said the creature brightly.

"Matt, why does that thing's voice sound like Chloe's?" asked Kala.

"A long story...mute it, commander. I have met this creature and it's a professional at mind attacks," said Matt coldly, Angelus nodding to one of the guards, who turned on a shield that removed any sound from Alpha's container, though she didn't seem to care, laughing insanely if her mouthing was any indication .

"There's not anything worse, is there?" asked Terrador.

"Fortunately no," said Angelus, "Well, at least not of the living variety. Some of our inanimate cargo can be quite dangerous in the wrong hands."

Terrador glared at Angelus who smiled in a disarming manner. "All we need is a building with a power supply and we will be gone in at most, 3 days," said Angelus calmly .

"You've got one!" snapped Matt.

Zara cleared her throat and said, "You're hardly in a position to be giving orders, Lynch."

"No, Mr. Lynch will be in use. If the infected escapes, he is perfectly equipped to contain the outbreak before it spreads. As for his 'demand', as I said, my ship is damaged and there is not sufficient power to keep the containment cells as optimal efficiency for the 3 days," said Angelus smoothly .

Matt glowered before saying, "Fine, but I want security tripled. I don't care how good you guys are at your job, I don't want a hairline margin of error that'll allow those monsters to get loose."

"I am far ahead of you there," said Angelus calmly, striding past, Subject Alpha making a wave through her cell window.

"Matt, can dragons even be infected by those two?" asked Kala a bit dubiously.

"Dunno, never tried it. As for Alpha, she can get into anyone's head. Don't even look at her and if she's about to click her talons, run," said Matt .

"Well, at least they've bought some time for us to work on your appeal," said Kala.

"Yeah, we're on guard duty tonight. Find any of the crew you can. Leaves cancelled," said Matt .

"Ok, by the way, Megan wanted to see you about something," said Kala.

"Ok, great, killer mutants, blasts from the past and now Megan," muttered Matt, walking off.

Matt went to Megan's room and knocked. "That you, Matt? Come on in," called Megan's voice. Matt walked in to see what looked like a heavily-modified defibrillator machine. "Matt, we've been working and I think we can fix your shapeshifting problem," said Megan.

"'We'?" asked Matt.

Chip popped out of the machine's screen and said, "Just putting in some last adjustments."

Matt turned to Megan and said, "You've joined forces with Chip, this is an unsettling development."

"Oh please, what could possibly happen?" said Chip.

"Uh huh, remember that time that you two tried to clone my old arm back?" asked Matt.

_Matt waited patiently for Chip to finish attaching the fleshy hand to his robotic arm. "Now, this is just to test whether you're capable of using your hand," said Megan, "I'll replicate the rest of it once we're certain that it will work." _

_Matt wriggled the fingers of his cloned hand and said, "Well, I can feel with them, I suppose that's a good thing.  
Chip nodded. "Ok, let's try hand gestures," he said . Matt nodded before going through some simple hand gestures, but they soon became increasingly rude. "Ok, ok, you don't have to show off," said Chip dryly. _

_"I'm...that's not me," said Matt, trying to hold his arm down before he apparently punched himself ._

_"Uh, Matt, are you feeling ok?" asked Megan._

_"I think my body is rejecting this hand, or the other way around," said Matt before his clone hand extended two fingers and lunged at Matt's eyes, Matt barely keeping it back with his other arm. _

_"Chop it off, CHOP IT OFF!" screamed Matt, trying to hold it back as best he could ._

_"Oh, Matt, calm down, I'm sure you can tame it-" started Megan before the hand managed to poke Matt in the eyes._

_"Megan, chop this thing off, that's an order," said Matt as he covered his eyes with his other hand as the clone hand kept poking at him. "Hah...it's given up...I've tricked EEEEEET!" said Matt, squealing as his clone hand punched him in the groin. _

_"Ok, ok, let's get rid of it," said Megan, holding up a saw. However, as she approached Matt, the clone suddenly lashed out and scratched her cheek. "Ow, that thing cut me," she snapped, feeling the scratch._

_Suddenly, the clone hand began twitching before switching to a draconic hand and charging up a plasma orb. "Oh no, it's tasted human blood, it's got the lust of inflicting damage on others, RUN!" yelled Chip._

_Megan glared before whacking Matt with the flat of the saw, knocking him out. The hand however was still awake, dragging Matt along while making high pitched squeaks. "Hold still, I've got it," said Chip, getting a laser scalpel and slicing with it. _

_The hand came loose at that before jumping at Megan's face. "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" came Megan's slightly muffled screams from under the hand. Chip nodded, aiming his laser and firing, missing the hand but causing it to flee into the vents ._

"In retrospect, I suppose I should have expected that from the sinister hand," said Megan.

"It...we never ever do clone hands again," said Matt in a shaking voice , "It took 3 days to get it out the vent."

"Er, yeah, it's definitely out," said Megan a little nervously.

Unknown to them, a disembodied hand was lurking behind the nearby vent cover. It was watching, waiting, waiting for the perfect to strike and destroy them all.

"So, what does this machine do? Make popcorn? Destroy the universe again?" said Matt, tapping one of the screens.

"We've modified it to give out a shock of reality energy," said Chip, "With the right frequency, it should unlock your human form."

"Ok, so it's 'destroy the universe' option," said Matt bluntly before sighing, "Let's get the train wreck a-rolling."

Chip took the two defibrillators and rubbed them together, causing rainbow-colored energy to spark off. "Ok, we're going to set it to a low frequency at first," said Chip, "Just so we know we don't overdo it." He placed them against Matt's chest and called, "Clear!" before zapping.

Sadly, as any Nullspace inhabitant would tell you, reality radiation is practically sentient and has an evil sense of humor, as such, a full charge shot out, blasted Matt out the wall and blacked out the entire city.

...Including the room where Angelus had set up their temporary containment.

"Quick, get those backup generators online!" he snapped.

It was a bit late as their lycan patient zero smashed through his cell door, the infected quickly liberating himself as well before the duo lunged for the nearest person. "CODE RED! WE HAVE MULTIPLE KETER CLASS..." began one of the troopers before a newly created infected tore his head off.

In contrast, Subject Alpha simply opened the door and sauntered out, not looking to be in a rush at all.

"I'll say this for my dear stepbrother, he should have been the spirit of jinxes," she laughed, listening to the rapid-fire shots and mix of human and inhuman screams in the distance as the infections began to spreads rapidly, but unfortunately not before the emergency power came on and the city sealed off the building.

"Darn, guess I'll have to wait until I have my fun in the big city," said Subject Alpha, "In the meantime, I suppose I ought to establish my place in the pecking order. Now where are those two alphas?"

…

The infected and werewolf alphas glared at each other, the infected trying to be the voice of reason. "...and I'm saying that we need to be careful. There were only a few agents here. By now there will be an army waiting outside," he snapped .

"If your power is as great as you claim it is, we could just swarm out and convert them, like we werewolves could certainly do," said the werewolf.

"Deathstone cuts us down as easily as silver does you," snapped the infected before a third voice said "Oh look at you two, arguing like little children." The two alphas looked up to see Subject Alpha floating up against the roof.

"What is that creature doing here?" growled the infected.

"Who cares? Let's convert her," said the werewolf.

"I don't think she's the type of being that can be changed," said the infected.

"Ok, let's eat her," said the werewolf.

"Oh, aren't you cute? I'll call you Fluffy," said Subject Alpha cheerfully, clicking her talons and turning the werewolf leader into a terrier. The infected looked at the terrier before laughing loudly. "And you looks like a little gecko," laughed Subject Alpha, clicking her talons and turning the infected leader into a tiny lounge lizard .

"Now then, I suppose the two of you were jockeying for who's going to be the bigger alpha," said Subject Alpha, "Allow me to simplify that argument: it's gonna be me. And I can do more humiliating things to you if you don't agree to go along. Until I get bored with that and go on to the gruesome stuff." The two transformed alphas exchanged glances before bowing as best they could .

"Excellent," said Subject Alpha before snapping her fingers. The terrier and gecko were restored to their former species, but not as they were before. The werewolf now looked more like a woman wearing a werewolf costume wearing a fur bikini and having wolf arms, legs, teeth, ears, and a tail. The infected looked like a lizard version of a green-skinned space babe with a 'space bikini' that looked like it came out of a trashy comic book.  
"Now let's try again; who's in charge?" she said threateningly, several blades weapons materializing, a mix of silver and deathstone blades.

The monster girls and said nervously, "You are."

"Very good. Now, any attempt to do my namesake, and I'll flay you alive," said Subject Alpha with a cold smile that caused the monster girls to shiver .

"Can you change us back? This fur isn't very warm," said the wolf-woman.

"And I don't think this outfit is going to be very protective," said the she-lizard, "What is the purpose of this thing?"

"Oh, very well," said Subject Alpha in a bored tone, clicking her talons.

With a flash, the two of them were fully furred and armored again. Though they were still girls. "But what about-" started the wolf-woman.

"Just a contingency," said Subject Alpha, "I'll make you two your proper selves once you've taken care of all the humans. Screw up or try to betray me and you can be the next alphas' mates."

The she-lizard glared at Subject Alpha and said, "It seems we have no choice."  
Subject Alpha teleported between them at that. "Oh, this is gonna be so cool. We can have a sleepover and tell scary stories like all girl posses do...and you get to eat Matt's face," she said happily .

"The pack traitor..." growled the she-lizard.

Subject Alpha turned to the wolf-woman and said, "By the way, I hear there's another werewolf here, one who could be a real threat to your leadership."

"Hmm..." said the werewolf thoughtfully before going bug eyed and slapping herself.

"Oh, isn't that cute? I can just pinch your little wolfy cheeks," squealed Subject Alpha.

"Don't," said the werewolf gloomily before she said, "Curse these hormones."

"Heh, you hot-bloods are so easy to get worked up," said the she-lizard.  
Subject Alpha grinned at that, "You sure about that? Maybe Mr. Lynch would be better off infected?"

"Why would I care...about..." said the she-lizard before getting a distant look. She shook her said and said, "I agree with the bitch, hormones suck."  
"Hey!" snapped the werewolf .

"Well, you are an actual bitch, you know," said the she-lizard.

"Oh, and I suppose I can just call you an egg-layer now?" snapped the wolf-woman.

"Now then, children, we have a job to do," said Subject Alpha

The monster girls growled at each other before saying, "Fine."

"Now then, first off, I need you to place a call," said Subject Alpha.

Chip and Megan winced as Chloe screamed incoherently in rage at them. What words were understandable were scoldings about blacking out half the city and deep-frying Matt, who was in the corner, gibbering. They didn't even have the chance to confirm if Matt's human form had been unlocked, not that he was in a state to transform right now.

Chloe finally calmed down before saying, "Chip, remember the last time you messed with reality energy and were turned into a Cybertronian for a month? I woulda thought you learnt your lesson."

"It was supposed to be a low dose," said Chip, "I don't understand how there could have been such an output."

"It's reality energy, it's random. It's the physics version of Morph!" snapped Chloe before her wristcomp beeped and an automated message said. 'Contract: Ragnarok' is now active. Catastrophic power failure as DARKRIFT facility...all units report to aid in recon and containment."

"Uh, gee, I wonder how that could have happened?" asked Megan nervously.

"You two are helping: Megan cause DARKRIFT have magical goodies and Chip to reboot the containment systems. MOVE IT!" snapped Chloe.

Matt stared blankly, having also got his own. "I told him...kill it," he said grimly .

"Er, feeling better, Matt?" asked Chip.

"Let's go burn the infected down," Matt said grimly.

The building already had a large audience, Atlantean and Avalarians, even a few wyverns watching the huge operation. As the gang came up, Matt noticed that Ashka was present . "Ah, here to clean up another mess you've made?" he asked tauntingly.

Angelus glared at that and snapped, "Mr. Lynch has nothing to do with this so kindly watch your tone."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll find some way of worsening it eventually," said Ashka.

"Very well, if Mr. Lynch can make no difference I have one other option," said Angelus smugly.

"And what would that be?" asked Ashka, unimpressed.

"Nuclear sanitization...of the area. 300 square miles should be sufficient," said Angelus, calmly reaching for his com before Ashka said quickly "Let's not be too hasty."

"Oh, you shouldn't be worried about that while I'm here," said Matt, "But then again, I'm practically the same as a nuke the way you talk about me."

"Mr. Lynch..." signed Angelus, putting his com back as a trooper ran up. "Sir, this may be weird but that infected is on the line for you."

Matt raised an eyebrow before picking up, "Um, hello?"

"Pack traitor...I know how you killed us so many times..." sneered a hissing voice over the line, causing Matt to pale .

"I'm sorry, I think you've got the wrong number," said Matt weakly.

"I know your voice. She said you were heeere," said the voice, amused .

"I don't know who you're talking about," said Matt.

"She knows you. She knows all about you. You will come in or not even your precious DARKRIFT will stop us taking control of this world," said the voice .

Matt nodded and said simply, "Sure, sure, was gonna do that anyways. Out of curiosity, what's the werewolf's opinion on all this?"

"She, er, he just wishes his pack restored. I can sympathize with that. You have five minutes or our new ally will destroy the containment shutters," said the infected calmly .

"And how am I supposed to get in?' asked Matt.

"I presume your fellows had a plan to get into the building and kill everyone. How about another incentive? From what I can see, this city is very crowded. Why else was just a floor evacuated and not the full building?" said the voice with cruel amusement, making it clear that there was plenty of people left it could have already infected .

Matt glared and said, "If you want me, fine, I'm coming. Leave them out of this."

Angelus glared as the com was lowered, everyone having heard. "There's no way you are going in there alone," he said .

"They're not giving me much of a choice," said Matt.

Ashka however was wearing a smug look. "Let him and his friends go. It will satisfy those freaks and get him out of my scales," he said .

"Gee, can you be any more openly hostile?" asked Kala dryly.

Angelus glared. "They will go in, with weaponry," he said, adding, "And you can go in via the emergency tunnels."

"What, me?" asked Ashka.

"This is your world as well. DARKRIFT protocol dictates a local must accompany teams," said Angelus calmly.

Ashka gave a disdainful snort before saying, "Surely a more militant dragon can be sent, someone who actually enjoys that kind of-"

"Will you just shut up?!" snapped Spyro, "All I've heard from you is one barb after another! Don't you ever have anything constructive to say? In fact, all I can remember of you is how negative you are."

Ashka gulped at that. "My lord...I'm..." before Spyro snapped "And don't call me 'my lord'. It makes me sound like Malefor. I'm going to help Matt. You want to come or cower is your call."

Ashka glared at Spyro and said, "Fine, I'll come, but only because someone needs to be the voice of reason here."

"Then why will you be coming?" muttered Xander, just loud enough for Spyro to hear.

Angelus turned to Matt and said, "Gather up your team quickly. We have little time to spare."

The tunnel itself was actually some sort of old transport tunnel, the group walking along. "Ok, this is a DARKRIFT op, so listen up. You'll be going up against things that could potentially attack your mind _and_ your body. So wear the damn headbands we passed out," said the Darkrift captain, pointing a specific glare at the dragons .

"Those wolves and lizards can't infect us, right?" asked Ashka.

"Probably not, but they probably could eat you with little problem," said Chris, who was adjusting his own headband.

"And the third could make you try to eat yourself cause she'll make you think your arms are made of roast mutton," said Matt darkly, he and Chloe the only two not wearing them, their mental immunity being sufficient .

"I've heard that she can actually turn your arms into roast mutton. Or probably taffy," said Morph.

"I don't think she's- YAAHH!" yelped Matt with surprise as he realized Morph was on his shoulder. A second later, he was pressed against the wall in Matt's plasma control. "Morph...how the hell did you get here and how do you know her?" he hissed angrily .

"I heard it from someone who knew someone who knew a guy who knew another guy who knew someone who was likely a girl in disguise who knew someone that was definitely a girl who knew a real guy's cousin..." started Morph.

Matt glared before squashing Morph's head under his shoulders. "Let's just go. He rarely regenerates his head in these cases till he's finished talking," he said .

Chloe walked beside Chris and asked, "Are you going to be ok? Alpha werewolves can command a lot of authority over other werewolves."

Chris tapped his headband. "This'll make sure I'm ok."

The group eventually reached a pressure door, the DR captain saying, "Ok, we're splitting into several teams. Our dragons can handle the infected. Lynch, you take Chis and some men and take out the Alpha. Chloe, you're with me and Ashka on Alpha."

"Wait, which alpha?" asked Ashka.

"Subject Alpha, she's part dragon according to our DNA scans so you should be able to handle her," said the captain smugly .

"Oh, er, wouldn't Spyro be of better use here?" asked Ashka.

"We actually like Spyro," said another DR trooper pointedly .

"Here, this might be a good luck charm," said Matt, tossing Morph's squashed form into Ashka's face, "Oops, clumsy me."

Ashka snapped at that, "Fine, we and your sister will dispose of that creature."

Chloe sighed and said, "I'm starting to worry about the company I'm keeping."

"Hey, if things get too hairy for you, I can always dash back," said Chris.

Matt and Chris peered round a corner, the others having headed off in their own direction. It might have been either a cruel trick from Angelus or just bad luck, but their only company in their team was kala and Techo. "We're gonna die, you realize that, right?" said Techo, mock cheerfully

"Why? Because we're facing werewolves?" asked Kala, "We deal with Ghoulwyrm on a regular basis. Werewolves that can't fly, turn intangible, or make sonic howls will be a piece of cake."

"No, cause knowing our luck, we'll meet the infected first," said Techo calmly .

"Well...we have plenty of practice dealing with them," said Kala uncertainly.

"Yeah, blow their heads off," said Matt before a clawed hand grabbed his neck from a half-open doorway.

"Unless they've surrounded us already," said Chris mock cheerful, as several dozen infected popped out of hiding, holding plasma staffs .

"Gee, I wonder how the dragons are handling the werewolves," said Techo dryly.

"Move." snapped one of the infected.

"Chloe's gonna kick your butt if you turn him," said Chris in a casual voice as the infected 'holding' Matt continued to bash him against the wall, a rather logical subduing technique for dealing with Matt.

"She is about to meet the mistress and I guarantee she won't last long," laughed the infected before a second one hit Chris with the bottom of her staff.

Subject Alpha watched with a smirk as Chloe and one of the dragons got turned around. "Ok, let's start twiddling with their minds. An inversion's easy, but it's too fast. Let's just stoke up their paranoia first," said Subject Alpha before focusing on the dragon.

She stopped, frowning and trying again. "A shell...a little shell on remote," she said to herself with amusement . She could also sense something from the dragon, something that reminded her of her father.

She paused, before laughing. "Someone trying to use chaos magic? Well, at least we have a target...come to me," she sneered, her eyes glowing red.

Ashka paused for a moment and said, "I think we ought to go this way."

"Don't be stupid. I can see the others light from here," said Chloe rudely .

"No, no, I think that subject Alpha is this way," said Ashka.

"Fine, sergeant, we have a lead on one of them. We're gonna contain," said Chloe, only to get static, "Urgh, you'd better not get us lost, you idiot."

"I know where I'm going," said Ashka defensively.

"Fine...for your sake I hope so," said Chloe icily .

"This is pure madness! I cannot believe you got us separated!" snapped Ashka, glaring at Chloe, his current only companion.

"I got us separated?!" snapped Chloe, "You were the one who insisted we keep to the west side!"

"Silence!" said Ashka, looking down at Chloe. "I am the councilor here," he said, as the two walked into a penthouse. Chloe drew her pistol as something got her merc sense tingling.

"Well, well well...visitors and I'm hardly decent," said a perfect, albeit more insane, clone of her voice from above them . Chloe looked upwards but didn't see anything. "So that's what I looked like in disguise...man I was uuuugly," said the other voice manically .

"Are you gonna babble all night or show yourself?" asked Chloe.

Ashka glared, sending a fire blast up at the roof, revealing the Jabberwock from before, inexplicably roasting a sausage on a stick. "Oooh...BBQ," she said happily .

"What kind of creature is that?" demanded Ashka.

"Oh...there's nothing like me," said the creature, floating down to be eye to eye with Ashka. "Oh, you're an angry fella," she said with a frown, before grinning insanely again, "Let's fix that," before poking Ashka between the eyes . Ashka's eyes crossed as they became multicolored swirls.

"Now then, darling, why don't you grab her, if you'd be so kind," said the creature, pointing at Chloe who tried to run for the door, only for it to vanish, leaving a brick wall.

"It wouldn't be a problem at all," said Ashka in a voice so giddy it was creepy.

Chloe turned and changed to her dragon form as Ashka lunged, grabbing the councilor and barely holding him back. "What the hell is up with you? Get a grip," she hissed as the Jabberwock said, "Ok...now kiss, you crazy kids, you."

"Ok," said Ashka, getting way too close to Chloe for comfort. She grimaced before using her tail to hit his softest underbelly.

The Jabberwock winced and said, "That wasn't fair," as Ashka squealed and staggered away. "Oh well, you had your use. I think I can work with this," she said before clicking her talon and turning Ashka into a small plushy of a dragon.

"I have to admit, that's a vast improvement," said Chloe.

"True, now I'm afraid...I have to deal with you," said the creature, floating down.

"You have no idea what you're setting yourself up against," growled Chloe, electricity spark around her.

"Oh...I think I do..." said the creature, before Chloe charged at her. The Jabberwock's slender body was a lot harder to hit that Chloe would have thought. It actually split itself in half for a brief second to avoid a blast. "Wow. Now I know where I got my fighting skills from. You're almost as good as me," teased Alpha .

"Will you stop talking like that?" snapped Chloe before throwing another lightning bolt at Alpha.

"Why? Don't you like the truth? Haven't you ever wondered what your dear brother got up to while looking for you?" sneered the Jabberwock.

"A lot of angst apparently," said Chloe.

"More than that. He even tried to bring you back," said the Jabberwock happily, disappearing and reappearing besides her, putting her taloned hand around Chloe's shoulder, "He got me instead...and he didn't even mind."

"There's very little sense in that statement even if I weren't inclined to believe you're just lying to throw me off," said Chloe.

"Oh please. I have no reason to lie, not to the person responsible for my existence. If you hadn't ran off and left your dear brother in the lurch he would never have created me," said Alpha in a sing-song voice .

"I did not run off on him and you're nothing like me!" snapped Chloe.

"Really? Presto chango," laughed Alpha, before turning into a doppelganger of Chloe. "Oh, I haven't looked like this for years," laughed Alpha

"Like that is supposed to convince me?" asked Chloe, "You probably can turn into anything, like a cappuccino machine or something."

"Nope," said Alpha, instead opening a window in the air. The window shimmered until it revealed an image of Matt messing with a large white pearl using tech. "Oh, we need sound," said Alpha, somehow eating popcorn and holding a TV remote.

"Alright, little buddy, you're gonna help me get home," said Matt, not sounding all the way sane, "I just need a few parts and you're gonna make them for me."

Chloe didn't look impressed. "So he wanted spare parts and got a freak, so what?" she said.

Alpha laughed and said, "Let's tune into his subconscious, shall we?"

The image zoomed on Matt's head before seemingly going into his ear. "Ew," said Chloe, though fortunately the images didn't show them literally going into Matt's head. What it did go was what the pearl's spell was locking onto: an image of Chloe and Matt laughing as they messed around with some toys and a radio, playing with the recording to make funny noises.

"See, that pearl doesn't just grant you what you want. It grants your heart's desire. And while Matt was thinking of getting parts for his jump engine, his heart was thinking of you. So the pearl gave him what he wanted; he gave him me," laughed Alpha, adding, "Or at least a good resemblance. Chaos pearls do their best."

"So what if it did?" asked Chloe, "Why should I care about something he did by accident?"

"Oh, I think you ought to care a lot. If it hadn't been for the...incident that lead to us separating, he would have been perfectly happy to accept me as a substitute for you. He'd probably would want to keep me, especially when he learn about the monster the Empire turn you into. Oh, we got on really well...till he killed me. He even gave me a funeral," sneered Alpha, skipping to an image in a forest, in the pouring rain .

Chloe watched as Matt placed her old helmet and dog tags in the grave. Alpha just grinned as Chloe seemed to twitch before she whispered in Chloe's ear, "He replaced you."

Chloe's eyes blazed red before turning yellow, a bright electric yellow that was literally crackling with energy. Alpha looked shocked at that. "Oh boy...that wasn't on the warning label," she said before a lightning blast hit her.

...

Matt didn't allow himself to feel panic. He was pretty sure that Chloe could handle that Jabberwock. He just needed the right moment before he started frying lizards.

"The pack traitor...you are not very impressive," sneered the lead infected, the werewolf alpha from before glaring sullenly . At least, that's who they apparently were. They had changed quite a bit since Matt had last seen them, but he was pretty sure he could blame Subject Alpha for their sexy monster girl bodies.

"Yeah, I get that alot," said Matt, "But who has time to pump irons when you're saving the world?"

"Fool, your cockiness is as I imagined," sneered the infected .

"Yeah, that's usually to everyone's expectations," said Matt.

"Now...what to do with you," said the infected, striding forward and circling Matt and the others. "My...feral companion wants your friend, Anderson, was it? But I get you, anything to add?" sneered the infected.

Matt sighed before asking smugly, "Ok...which one of you is better than the other?"

"I am," said the two leaders at the same time, before glaring and growling at each other.

"No, I am. My pack is stronger," snarled the werewolf, the infected making a chucking noise.

"Please, you can barely tie your shoelace. I am superior."

'It can't be this easy, can it?' Matt thought to himself.

"You foolish reptile," snarled the werewolf, her own converted growling.

"Idiotic mutt," snarled the infected before both sides lunged at, or began firing at the other

"Well this is...anti-climactic," said Techo.

"I can't help but feel we've been robbed of a fight," said Chris.

"Who cares? Let's leg it," said Matt .

"So where to next?" asked Kala as they ran.

"To help Chloe with her boss fight, where else?" said Matt.

The group ran along, following Chloe's nanite signal before the lights came on, several defenses placed by Angelus's men lighting up before they practically bumped into the team captain from earlier. "We have containment back. We saw subject 2 and 3 and their minions fighting. How'd you manage that?" he asked .

"Easy, we inflated their egos until they couldn't both fit in the same room," said Matt, "And they didn't need much inflation." An explosion was heard above at that. "Chloe," he said before yelping as the roof collapsed, the Jabberwock landing in front of them, looking like she had lost a match with a car crusher

The Jabberwock looked up at Matt and said, "Oh there you are, you're late for the tea party." She giggled mindlessly before Matt sighed and whacked her over the head with his gun.  
Techo glared as the creature passed out, several Darkrift troopers clicking anti-magi energy cuffs on her before he said, "No...this is way too easy...for us."

"Yeah, this should have taken a lot longer," said Kala, "But she couldn't have set us up for something, could she?"  
"Hey, where's Chloe?" said Chris suddenly, looking up at the hole .

"I better check on her," said Matt before flying up. The penthouse was pretty thoroughly trashed by the fighting, with plenty of broken props that the Jabberwock had apparently used. For some reason, a dragon plushy was in the corner as Matt looked around. "Sis? Come on, this isn't funny," he called . He went over to the light switch and said, "I'm turning on the light. You better be in here."

He flipped the switch and the lights came on for a second before the bulbs suddenly burst as electricity streamed out of them. Matt's eyes followed the electric flow to a standing figure. The darkness made it a little hard to tell who it was, but the flashes of electricity as they went over her made it clear. "Uh, Chloe, what are you doing?" asked Matt, noticing her eyes were solid orbs of flashing yellow energy.

Chloe didn't seem fazed by Matt's threat and merely held out her hands in front of her as the electricity started arcing over her arms. Her gloves suddenly disintegrated into ash, revealing hands made of crackling electricity. After studying her new hands for a few seconds, she pointed them at Matt.

Matt sighed and just held onto his hat before he was blasted with lightning, Chloe looking puzzled when he was just blackened instead of disintegrated, though he was referring to himself as the grand lemon

"Matt, are you alright up there?" called Kala's voice.

"The lemon dances in the moonlight," gibbered Matt before Chloe zapped him again .

"Ok, I'm going up there," said Kala before flying up the hole. She took one look at Chloe and said, "Oh no, Chloe, please tell me you're not thinking of destruction." Chloe just made a buzzing noise and sent a bolt of lightning at Kala .

Kala quickly dropped to the floor to get out the way of the bolt. "Chloe, listen, I know what you're going through right now and you don't want it to go too far," said Kala, "You gotta get yourself grounded."

Chloe just hissed angrily at that, Kala looking down to see that a hit during the fight between Chloe and the Jabberwock had exposed the rubber covering. "Hmm...grounded...sorry, Chloe, this is for your own good," said Kala before tearing up some of the rubber covering and flying at her.

Chloe dodged to the side like the rubber was some kind of deadly weapon...which at the moment it was. "Chloe, power down or else," said Kala before flying at her again.

Chloe hissed again, sending another bolt at Kala...before a plasma bolt shot through her, the hole quickly refilling . Chloe turned and gave an electrified snarl, the hole in her armor showing more electrified flesh. Matt had managed to get back to his feet and said sternly to Chloe, "Sis, stand down." Instead, Chloe gave an electrical shriek as the armor covering the rest of her arms disintegrated, revealing more electrified flesh.

"Very well, then I'll just hold you there," said Matt, closing his eyes before reopening them to reveal them glowing with plasma, before a plasma field sprang up around Chloe.

Chloe screech and thrashed against the energy field, her arms becoming whip-like bolts of lightning as she did so. Matt's face simply hardened, the plasma super charging to harden against the blows . Chloe threw herself against the barriers, clearly very desperate to get out. Matt glared, making the orb airtight.

Slowly, Chloe's thrashing began to weaken. Electricity was not as dependent on oxygen as fire, but it could not keep a charge in the stale air. Finally, the lightning vanished, a semi-naked Chloe slumping down, Matt releasing the field and using a smaller one to gently lay her down.

Kala gave a sigh of relief and asked, "Was I that wild when I went elemental?"

"Well, you went a lot further," said Matt, "But it didn't require as much force to make you power down."

"I wonder what caused her to snap," said Kala .

"I wouldn't be surprised if that creep pushed some big buttons," said Matt darkly.

Chloe groaned at that, just as Chris pulled himself up. Chris quickly hurried to Chloe's side and asked, "Chloe, are you okay?"

Chloe gave him a goofy grin and said, "I am now that you're here, handsome."

Matt glared and a plasma field grabbed Chris and pushed him back down the hole, Matt running up. "Chloe, are you ok?" he asked .

"Uh, I think...what happened to my sleeves?" asked Chloe, looking at her bare arms.

"You elementized," said Matt, adding, "Do you remember what she said?"

"Uh...she said something about knowing you before, somehow knowing me...I can't really remember exactly what she said," said Chloe.

"Good...don't," said Matt, sternly, before calling down, "Captain, tell Angelus we're clear up here and get some medics in."

Kala looked around and asked, "Wait, where's Ashka?" Chloe pointed weakly to the plushy in the corner.

Matt and Kala both started at the plushy with surprised before Matt said, "It is soooo tempting to just leave him like that."

Kala nodded just as an annoyed Spyro came in, a small infected gnawing uselessly on his leg before it saw Matt and screamed, running for it. "Did you guys have a hard fight as well?" asked Spyro.

"Not really. I managed to beat the infected without firing a shot, a personal first for me. Oh and Chloe almost went full elemental," said Matt .

"She what?" asked Spyro.

"Apparently it's supposed to be another feature of the Shar-Ekta upgrade," said Kala, "We get human, dragon, and elemental forms, with a few other forms in-between. However, the elemental part is rather hard to control."

"It's not controllable at all. Each time we've had it happen, we've turned into soulless killing machines," said Kala bluntly .

"That sounds...troubling," said Spyro.

"It was..." said Matt, before adding more cheerfully, "So...what happened to you?"

_Spyro wandered around the hallways, thoroughly lost. "Where did those two go?" asked Spyro, "I thought we were supposed to stick together." _

_He turned, hoping to see Ashka and Matt and jumped as a werewolf and infected rolled out a doorway, punching each other repeatedly. He strode up and peered inside to see a full on melee. "What the hell?" he muttered out loud, causing the fight to cease and all of them to look at him._

_"EXTRA POINTS!" yelled one of the infected before all the combatants lunged at him.  
_

"You do not want to know," shuddered Spyro

"Well, I suppose that wraps everything up," said Matt briskly, "Time to head on home." Kala elbowed him and Matt sighed before saying, "Right, we need to change Ashka back."

"Who?" asked Spyro.

"You know, Ashka, the dragon who was supposed to be with Chloe," said Matt.

"I thought she was just with Morph," said Spyro.

"She also went with Ashka, you know, that other fire dragon on the council," said Kala.  
"There's no council member called Ashka," said Spyro in a confused tone.

Matt laughed at that alongside Kala, who said, "Of course there is. That Jabberwock turned him into a plushy. You're stepping on him."

Spyro quickly lifted his paw and looked down. He gave the toy a confused look and said, "Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?"

"No, the little shit was playing the council like a violin. You were about to hand me over to McNeil," said Matt angrily .

"Why on Avalar would I do that?" asked Spyro, "You think we would just forsake after all you've done for us?"

"Wait...then who..." began Matt.

…

Scorch and Vipra peered out to see Ghoulwyrm wearing a happy insane grin, oh and strapped to a table. "Come on, kiddies...I just want to hug and squeeze you...why am I tied to a table?"

"What on Avalar has gotten into him?" asked Scorch.

"Looks like he's got bitten by the cuddlebug," said Vipra in her usual vapid manner.

Devina rolled her eyes, "He got feedback when that creature flipped the personality on the Ashka construct. This had to be the stupidest idea he's ever had."

"You have to admit, he was doing well at sewing discord among the council before that," said Raptor.

"Yeah, but he was too close to the Lynches," said Scorch darkly .

"I'm starting to wonder if Matt is some form of jinx," said Devina, "One that can spread his bad luck to villains."

"I wouldn't be surprised," said Raptor .

The next day, the atmosphere in the council chamber was much, much lighter. That was in no little part of Ashka not being present. As a matter of fact, none of the dragons recognized that name, let alone remembered him.

The NSC rep was there, with several guards with cuffs, off on the sidelines as the council came back in. "The council of 12 has made their decision...Commander Lynch will not be handed over to the illegal NSC government that formed in the wake of their lost council," said Xander, causing the NSC rep to look furious .

Matt decided to be professional for once. He would not mock the representative within these sacred chambers. He'll mock him later once they've left.

The NSC rep wasn't so restrained. "This planet is still NSC property. You'll all pay for this," he snapped .

"I was not aware that we had been annexed," said Zara dryly.

"This planet was discovered by a NSC vessel and as such is ours!" snapped the representative, Matt saying "I'd stop now if I were you."

"Quite, besides, if that is how planetary ownership is establish, this world would in fact be Atlantean territory," said Morgan.

"How DARE-" began the representative before Zara said, "I think I've heard enough. If you say another word, I will burn you alive."

The representative glared before stalking out. "Never would have thought I'd appreciate hearing your rudeness," said Matt to Zara.

"Shut up, human," snapped Zara.

"That's more like it," said Matt.

Spyro nodded as the council filed out, flying down to say, "Zara almost convinced me to vote her way. You almost got Mina killed...well, not you. Mina told me and Cynder what happened."

"Yeah, if I were in control, I wouldn't have let Mina anywhere near that portal. Heck, she wasn't even supposed to be at the base," said Matt.

Spyro glared into Matt's eyes at that, before, seemingly satisfied, he nodded. "I believe you," he said coldly, making it clear what would have happened had it not been the truth .

"I promise I will never allow her into situations that are far too dangerous for her," said Matt, "But that doesn't mean she still will go in anyways."

"I know, she's like her parents in that aspect," said Spyro with a wistful smile .

"Yeah, who knows how that boundless energy will shape her future," said Matt.

"Well, she's made a few remarks, but I'm not so sure how seriously you should take them," said Spyro.

"I can use a laugh, tell me," said Matt.

"She, uh, said she wants to be a Shar-Ekta when she grows up," said Spyro.

Matts laughter vanished at that and a dark look appearing on his face . "Of course, I told her that was quite impossible," said Spyro, "She said she'd settle for Shar-Khan, but it can't be done, right?"

"It can but she's never ever going to know that. Taleth managed it with Kala, hell if I know how and I'm not gonna let anyone copy it," said Matt .

Spyro nodded and said, "She'll already have enough to deal with in her life without having the Shar-Virk take an active interest in her."

"If Taleth comes within a parsec of her, I'll tear his head off," said Matt, flexing his claws before snapping, "Why won't you turn back?"

"I thought that reality energy was supposed to fix that problem," said Spyro.

"That's what's worrying me," said Matt .

"Well, if it's like when you were stranded here after we defeated Malefor the second time, I'm sure it'll come back in time," said Spyro.

"No, back then I could still turn human and that's never been fixed. This time...it's just not there," said Matt, sounding terrified .

"Well, have you had trouble going to dragon form?" asked Spyro.

"Well, that seems a little redundant, doesn't it?" asked Matt.

"Just try it," said Spyro.

Matt concentrated, before feeling the familiar tingling and shifts, before he opened his eyes to find his eyes level with Spyro again "There, does that answer your-" started Matt before with an odd buzzing sensation, he snapped back to his anthro form.

His eyes got a distant look to Spyro at that before he said in a mechanical voice, "Human DNA not detected...hybrid form online...full draconic form resequencing." before his eyes closed and he seemed to come to.

"Uh, Matt, are you ok?" asked Spyro.

"What just happened?" said Matt, weakly .

"You said something about not having human DNA and your dragon form resequencing," said Spyro, not really sure what it meant.

Matt glared before trying to turn human, only to hear his nanites say, in a voice that chilled him "DNA not found." Desperately, he tried dragon form only to receive 'access denied'.

Xander, who was nearby, noticed this and said, "Well, I'm not certain why you can't use your full-dragon form. But I remembered when I lose access to my human form." Matt began to shake in terror at that, his eyes centers shrinking as Xander said grimly, "Let me guess...'denied for resequencing'."

"Ye...ye..." stuttered Matt.

Xander sighed. "Look on the bright side, it might override the infertility," he tried .

"KALA'S THE ONE WHO'S INFERTILE, NOT ME!" snapped Matt before pausing and asking, "Er, did I just broadcasted that to everyone?"

Xander nodded, saying, "My Shar will not say a thing."

Matt sighed and said, "Yeah, Kala has enough to worry about, like when she'll eventually get form locked."

"It could be worse. You could be dead," said Xander sagely, turning and leaving .

Matt sighed and said, "Yeah, I suppose I should be grateful for the little things. They'll be all that I'll have left."

Spyro glared at that, "That's enough. Where's that cocky human me and Cynder dragged out the river all those years ago?"

"On his way out of existence," said Matt sourly.

"No, that human is not gone. He's standing right here. Just because he's not human doesn't mean he isn't the same guy," said Spyro.

Matt span at that and pointed a claw accusingly, "No, he is! You know what I hoped I'd manage one day? A way home. I go home like this and if I'm lucky, the army will gun me down."

Spyro paused and said, "I thought your species were more open than that."

Matt gave a bitter laugh and said, "On my planet, my _real_ home planet, we're the only species. On that world, everything like dragons, aliens, sentient robots, spaceships, magic crystals, they're all a bunch of stories. Nothing like you guys exist there except in video games and TV shows. The Atlantis civilization, all they built, your alliance, their space fleet, it's all a legend there now. The way we fight and scrabble, we'll probably wipe ourselves out. They won't hesitate to kill me if I suddenly materialize in the middle of New York. And even by the smallest, most infinitely unlikely chances that they won't blow me up, I'd be a freak, a carnival sideshow attraction, a laboratory subject to be studied and eventually dissected. My family wouldn't recognize me at all."

Spyro just stared, "I...I'm sorry. You'll always have a home here though."

Matt sighed and said, "I know, but there's always gonna be a part of me that's gonna be saying this isn't my true home. I guess I'll have to learn to tune it out over the centuries or however long my lifespan is."

Spyro nodded sadly, choosing to leave as he spotted that Matt needed to be alone for the moment.

In the DARKRIFT ship, Angelus looked at the wormhole's wall before back at the cells. This had not gone as planned...especially with Alpha getting out, who was strangely quiet.

"Well, you certainly made a lot of noise down there," said Angelus, "But you're going to be make more noise when we start finding out what makes you tick." There was a long silence before Angelus said, "No noise now?" He got close and peered closely at the Jabberwock. Her face seemed peculiarly vacant. In fact, she wasn't even blinking.

"Computer...lifesign scan on Alpha cell," Angelus ordered, only to be confused as the scanner began to sing 'twinkle, twinkle little star'.

Subject Alpha laughed to herself as she sat in the ruined cabin, drinking some chocolate milk she'd summoned. The place had been the hatchery village before the Banshee Cannon incident apparently and now it was all hers. Her human double had played right into her claws. "Very soon...very soon I'll be back in business," she said with an evil grin, "Nothing makes a life story better than a healthy dose of betrayal."

* * *

There's another chapter done. Sorry about it being late. Technical difficulties and scheduling conflicts got in the way. But I'm hoping on having the rest of this story out this week. With this particular chapter, Subject Alpha is a character of my co-author's. She's from the same story that Aria came from and it should be blatantly obvious who she is if you've read that story. Anyhow, there's only two chapters left so keep an eye out for them and please review.


	8. Fairest in the Sand

**Voyagers Saga**

**The Sundered World**

**Chapter 8: Fairest in the Sand**

If there was one thing that Matt dreaded worse than having to deal with undead, it was dealing with business meetings. And these meetings were held at least once a week regarding the restoration of Warfang and New Atlantis which he could care less about regarding the technicalities.

"However, given that the Constructicons were Chip's crew and Chip was part of his, he had to come. He'd been hooked up with some specialized armor that left his arms and legs bare, apart from a plasma repeater that attached to the wrist and one of the fold out helmets that the Atlantean guards had. "Why am I here again?" he groaned .

"Because as captain, you have to authorize new projects before they can start," said Chip.

"Can't you just rubber stamp them?" asked Matt.

"Well, it's tempting, but you do recall the last time you gave blatant approval for anything, right?" asked Chip.

"Yes, pure mayhem...fine, let's get this over with," said Matt, darkly .

"Well, as much as I'm wary about importing Cybertronians, having six of them work on the city on a daily basis is certainly a great advantage," said Aria.

"Ok," said Matt, cracking his claws and saying, "Let's see the proposals. Show me all the ones from Moneybags first."

Aria called them and said, "Well, a fair amount is repairing the amusement park you've damaged."

"Draco did most of them," said Matt absently.

"He's had a few warehouses and emporiums built...though it seems he's extended to areas beyond the Constructicons' ability to transport to," said Aria.

"Ok...double check the files for any others he'll have sneaked in," said Matt bluntly .

Aria looked at the files and said, "The only thing else of note related to him is requests for shipping to his outposts."

Matt nodded, "Thought so...and we pay the costs," he said, Aria looking and rereading before frowning. "That little sneaky git," she said darkly, seeing the aforementioned line hidden away between several proposals.

Matt nodded and incinerated the notes. "Denied...NEXT!"

"Well, we've had a few complaints about introducing an 'invasive species'," said Chip, "I'm referring to the carbuncles, in case you haven't guessed."

"Tough nuggets, I am not having exploding fennecs on my ship...DENIED!" snapped Matt, causing everyone to wince at his final yell.

"Well, the only thing else is that there have been requests for Tutorbots to home-school some of the more...difficult hatchlings," said Chip.

"Great idea!" said Matt quickly, snatching the letter for that and scratching his name into the bottom before shoving it in Aria's mouth, yelling "FAX IT!"

Aria removed the letter and said, "Is there anything else you'd like to inquire about?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," said Matt, 'You've been giving me plenty of reports about the Constructicons' progress, but what has Dune Runner been doing all this time?"

"I cannot be certain...though he has been sending messages to the experiments. I took copies in case we ever needed to trace him," said Aria calmly, Matt turning to fix hos currently much more intimidating glare on Chip .

"Er, well, he's not doing any real harm..." said Chip a bit hesitatingly.

"Where...is he?" said Matt in a tone full to the brim with finality .

"According to his messages, he has been engaged on something called a 'surfin' safari'," said Aria dubiously.

"What? He's been surfing while we've been attacked by EVERYTHING?" snapped Matt, a plasma ball blasting Chip in the face .

"Touring the southern seas with his company of wayward slackers," said Aria.  
Matt glared, "Who else jumped ship?" he growled, baring his teeth .

"Your pets for one thing," said Aria, "And young master Lesog has also joined them a few weeks ago to get out of the city. Surely you must have noticed their absence."  
Matt looked a little embarrassed before admitting, "Not really."

"Well, I suppose you didn't notice NegaMorph's absence, apparently he was Gary's transport," said Aria.  
"And why did Megan not accompany them?" said Matt .

"Oh, she has been, she's just been commuting with her own shadow portals," said Aria, "Apparently, it would have been too suspicious if all of them were gone."

"Ok...who else knows about this?" said Matt.

Just then, Mina walked in and asked, "Hey Chip, when's Megan gonna come back? Everyone's packed and..." She trailed off when she noticed Matt glaring at her.

"Ah, the answer's everyone. WELL, I could do with a holiday!" snapped Matt .

"I told you we should have invited him along the first time," said Mina.

"And why wasn't I invited?" asked Matt.

"Because you're a trouble magnet," said Mina, apparently not realizing what the term meant.

Matt's eye twitched at that, Chip yelling "HE'S GONNA BLOW!"

The two of them ran for it as Aria simply walked outside saying, "I'd rather not have my skin damaged before we get there."

The explosion demolished the room quite easily before Matt stomped out, Kala running up in shock. Kala had been concerned about Matt's mood since his form lock, so she's been spending more time in her hybrid form to support him. Chloe had been given enough cajoling to also play along. "Matt, is something wrong? Were you having an elemental episode?"

"Everyone's going to the southern islands and I wasn't invited because I'm a trouble magnet!" snapped Matt.  
Kala sighed at that. "I can understand that. Well, you're coming along," she said sternly, leaning in and saying quietly, "We could always find something to do alone."

Matt smiled at that and said, "Ok, anyone else coming?"

"Well, Spyro and Cynder want to come along, but we're having a bit of trouble with that," said Kala.

"Tough, they can come. They're as much trouble magnets as I am so the more the merrier," snapped Matt .

"Yes, well, it's not that they don't want to come, it's that someone isn't allowing them to go," said Kala.  
"Well las5 I checked, Spyro outranks Zara so she can kiss my ass," said Matt primly .

"Try telling that to her," said Kala.

"With pleasure," snarled Matt, stomping off, Chip sighing "This'll be fun."

Matt had prided himself with have the most resistant will he knows of. To date, he's never encountered anyone more stubborn than he is. However, Zara was putting that claim to the test.

"Spyro outranks you. I believe telling your leader where he can and cannot go with his family is treason under any planet's law," he snapped .

"And I say that he has more important duties in Warfang and dereliction of duty should not be accepted on planet," snapped Zara.

"If he was military, which he isn't, and before you say he is, show his record of enlistment," said Matt, annoyed

"In case you've forgotten, I may not technically outrank Spyro, but I do outrank you," snapped Zara, "I should be charging you with being derelict in duty as well as most of your crew."

"Ok, show me the contract I have with you. I'm a mercenary...and if I am your employee, you owe me now...400 million in back pay, per crew member, plus the trillion or so to repair my vessel," said Matt with an evil grin .

As the two continued to argue, the rest of the crew were looking disheartened. "Man, this is gonna take forever," groaned Chris.

"Worst part is that we could lose our vacation time," said Techo.

Chip sighed and said, "I hope it wouldn't have to come this. Morph, go with plan 285." Morph gave a thumbs up before changing into a pink toucan-like experiment with an antenna on his head and hopped over.  
Matt jumped back in horror at that as Zara looked confused. "What in the great elders are you-" she began before Morph tapped her leg. Zara turned and glared down at Morph. "What do you want you annoying little-" she snapped before Morph chirped and fired a green beam from his antenna that hit Zara.  
Zara went a little cross-eyed before actually resisting a little before Morph gave her a second blast. "Oh...this is so...stupid...why were we arguing?" she said in a tired voice .

"Uh, I don't know, you might want to take a rest," said Matt.

"Rest, yes, ancients know how long it's been since I've taken time off," said Zara, smilingly lazily, "You mind if I come along?"

Matt raised an eye ridge before shrugging. "Sure, blackmail purposes and all that," he said, Zara twitching as she tried to fight before giving up again .

"Alright, let's get loaded up and moving," said Kala, "We wanna be there before sunset if we don't want to waste any vacation time."

Zara nodded with a dazed look before staggering past them. Matt stared before saying, "You all get raises. That couldn't have gone better."

Morph switched back to his normal form and said, "Woohoo, vacation time!"

The group flew round the last tunnel, the experiments and humans of the group being carried while others who could fly solo doing so. The island itself looked like a floating Hawaii, some sort of spell allowing a small ocean bay to survive the eternal waterfall .

"You know what's been puzzling me?" asked Matt, "How is it that the seas don't pour into the cracks between the landmasses and leave the surface dry?"

"Hmm...interesting question," said Chip, "I think there may be lower seas beneath the planet's crust in which the upper seas flow into and eventually flow back up. But a fair amount of water falls into the mantle, which creates a lot of rain for the planet. But I suppose you can chalk it up to magic as usual."

"Magic is hax," muttered Matt as they headed down towards the beach, Mina and the experiments immediately running for the beach.

"Ok, let's find a good spot that's close enough to the water to not make it too long a walk but not get splashed by the surf," said Matt. But then he paused and asked, "What's that music?" The others listened and they could distinctly hear a xylophone-like instrument being played from somewhere nearby. Matt glared, trying to triangulate the music. "If that Hawaiian music..." he muttered, not in the mood for clichés .

After a bit of wandering, Matt soon found the source of the music. Dune Runner was playing with craved drumsticks on what looked like an oil canister with the bottom missing and the top dented in. He was playing a lively tropical tune until he happened to look up and spotted Matt. "Uh oh," he said before suddenly shifting to vehicle mode.

Matt walked up before saying, "You're fooling nobody. I know what you did. Get up."

"Nobody's here," said Dune Runner's voice from the radio, extremely unconvincing.

"Ok...you won't mind if I see what happens when you pour plasma into a fuel tank in this dune buggy I found," said Matt, in a mock cheerful voice .

Dune Runner switched to robot mode and said in a friendly tone, "Hey, Matt. What's up, mon?"

"Don't you 'what's up?' me. You left me alone and went on holiday!" snapped Matt .

"Well, de ting is dat it was extremely boring being stranded on de moon all dem months. And when I went down ta Earth, it was so primitive I couldn't even drive around in vehicle mode. And dere weren't even any waves big enough to ride. So, well, I thought it be time to take some vacation time," said Dune Runner, twiddling his fingers with all four hands.

"And you invited everyone except me because?" said Matt with a shark-like grin .

"Well, I heard rumors of sea serpents in dese waters and I figured dat if you were here, dey'd come up and chomp ya," said Dune Runner.

"Oh please," muttered Matt, facepalming

"I was gonna invite ya eventually cept dat you've always seemed ta be busy," said Dune Runner.

"They've already been invited...for a few days," said Matt darkly .

"Den welcome to Luau Island, mon," said Dune Runner before putting a lei around Matt's neck.

Matt glared a little before saying icily "This is not over, but because I don't want the same treatment Zara got, I'm going along with it. But just to show you I mean business, you'll be docked of your diesel rations for a month," before stomping off.

There was a long pause before Dune Runner said to Chloe, "He does know dat diesel makes me backfire, right?"

"Do it again and it's no diesel for two months!" shouted Matt.

Chloe just facepalmed. "He's a little stir crazy, seems the Ekta upgrade didn't cure us," she said .

"Cured ya of what?" asked Dune Runner.

"Of becoming dragons permanently," said Chloe.

"Ah, dat's too bad," said Dune Runner, "But at least ye got someplace ye'll always can come home to."

"We'd prefer to have the option to go to our own home," said Chloe coldly .

"Ta where everting's mundane and unexciting?" asked Dune Runner before noticing Chloe's look and said, "Well, if dat's what ye want. Me, I say dat's home's always where de spark, er, heart is happy."

Chloe sighed, "Look, Matt's taking this kinda hard. I don't think he wants to be a full dragon 24/7."

"De future ain't written in stone yet," said Dune Runner, "Ya'll need ta relax, enjoy life, find some peace."

"That's the smartest thing I've heard all day. So how long do you think before Matts curse kicks in and we're attacked?" Chloe said.

"Depends on when he gets in de water," said Dune Runner. There was a sudden scream by Matt and Dune Runner said, "Dat was quick."  
Chloe listened before saying, "I don't hear any splashing."

"Hmm, maybe we oughta check it out," said Dune Runner before picking Chloe up and heading off in the direction of Matt's scream. They soon found Matt up at the top of a coconut tree, desperately trying to get away the most horrible thing Matt's mind could conceive: Keenai in a really revealing bikini set.

Chloe's eyes narrowed as she stomped forward. "Who invited you?" she snarled .

"This isn't a private island," said Keenai smugly, "Ye can't say ye can claim the whole thing for yerself."

"Right of conquest unless the owner arrives," growled Chloe, readying a lightning bolt.

"Oh, ye haven't checked with the chief yet?" asked Keenai, sounding even more smug, "Oh, ye're gonna be in big trouble."

Chloe turned to Dune Runner and asked, "What is she talking about?"

"Well, dere are some residents and dey're still having misgivings about dragons coming here and making a resort," said Dune Runner, "I tink Spyro was supposed ta be negotiating with dem about dat."

"So that's why he came," muttered Chloe before glaring at Keenai, "So how did you, princess slut, get permission?"

"For me and a travellin' companion," said Keenai, "They allow small parties if they bring a gift for the chief."

"Does your head on a stick count?" hissed Chloe angrily, her temper rising .

"Hey, hey, break it up," said Dune Runner, "We're supposed ta be on vacation, remember?"

"Then Keenai can sod off. Matt's on vacation from her to," snapped Chloe .

"This island's big enough for all o' us," said Keenai, "Besides, Matt owes me some quality time after he's left me in the hospital."

"No I don't and you can't make me," snapped Matt from his tree, adding, "Zara says I owe you nothing due to being possessed by an evil alter ego at the time."

"Let's see what she thinks now," said Keenai smugly.

"Sure, let's," said Matt, suspiciously agreeable.

Zara staggered past at that, a drink in her paw before Keenai strode up. "Miss Zara, me love's tryin' to dodge me," she complained, grinning smugly before noticing that the Lynches were laughing .

"Not my problem," hiccupped Zara, "I'm on vacation."

Keenai stared in horror at that as Zara strode off before glaring angrily at the laughing duo. "Oh, ye think it's funny, do ye?" she snapped, sending a sonic scream at them .

Matt and Chloe winced as they covered their ears. "Hey, we get enough of that shrieking from Soundwave," said Dune Runner before grabbing Keenai. She turned to the Lynches and asked, "She can fly, right?"

Matt gave a 'so and so' wave of the hand before saying, "Let's find out. Once into the sea if you please, Dune."

"Don't ye DAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRREEEEEEE!" yelled Keenai as Dune Runner threw her as far as he could.

"Hmm, it looks like she might clear the bay," said Matt as he watched.

Chloe watched before sighing. "Nope...she landed in the water...shame," she said sadly as Matt flew down from the tree.

"Looks like she's about to go over de waterfall," said Dune Runner, his optics going into quadnocular mode.

"Ok...who cares?" said Matt, he and Chloe walking off, before Matt paused, "Hey, she said something about a clan and a resort. Who runs the resort?"

"Oh lord, oh lord, oh lord," groaned Matt as they stood outside the entrance to the resort, the tiki statues that held up the sign saying "Luau Island Resort' were unmistakably bears.

Chloe said, "It couldn't be," before the door was thrown open and several of the park security bots, wearing hula skirts came out, followed by their owner...  
"Moneybags...who else," snapped Matt .

"Welcome, everyone, to the luscious and tropical paradise of..." started Moneybags before pausing as he saw Matt. "I'm sorry, sir, but I must ask you to leave."

"Make me," said Matt smugly .

"If you insist," said Moneybags as the security bots moved forward.

Matt got a plasma orb in each hand before Dune Runner stepped between them and said, "Whoa, we really don't wanna start a fight, do we?"

"He's barring me from his resort!" snapped Matt. "It is not personal sir, but you have an uncanny knack for either causing expensive damage and getting others to cause expensive damage," said Moneybags, "It was enough of a headache to get my amusement park up and running again. I'd rather not lose this resort which has taken a lot of time, money, and negotiations to build."

"Tough cheese, I'm coming in regardless of your views," snapped Matt .

Chloe sighed and said, "We'll pay extra, enough to cover whatever damages Matt will cause."

"Welcome to Luau Island Resort," said Moneybags warmly, "May I give a grand tour of our lovely slice of heaven?"

"No, just show me where the kr'ta is," snapped Matt .

"Sir, we can provide a lot more than simple kr'ta," said Moneybags, "Our bartenders are capable of mixing together a rainbow of delightful beverages that appeases the tongue and the brain."

"I want the kr'ta," said Matt in a voice rigid with self-control .

"I take it you've never had kr'ta as anything else besides plain," said Moneybags.

"GIVE ME THE DAMN ALCOHOL!" snapped Matt, a plasma ball neatly removing the head of one of the bots .

"His temper hasn't improved much, has it?" asked Moneybags dryly.

"He's had a bad setback," said Chloe, "Just show us the bar before he runs up the bill too much."

Keenai stomped back to her condo in a pretty bad mood. It was bad enough to thrown away like a pebble, but that tumble over the falls had ripped up her swimsuit and made her had to her top in place. She was just glad no one had seen her.  
"Keenai, aw, your outfit got all slicy-dicied," said Vipra, who was bouncing on the bed .

Keenai glared her at and snapped, "Ye look the other way or your head's gonna ring more than it usually does."

"Ok, you mind if I drink your mocha?" asked Vipra.

"Sure, whatever," said Keenai as she started to change her top. She suddenly paused. "Wait...I didn't buy any mocha..." she said, before gasping in horror. She _had_ ordered some kr'ta to see what it tasted like. Keenai turned and snapped, "Keenai, keep away from my-" She froze as she saw Vipra gulping down from a different bottle.

"That was, hic, good..." said Vipra before giggling. Suddenly, her form started shifting, growing taller as her proportions altered into a humanoid form with a quite exaggerated figure. Vipra look at herself and giggled before saying, "Hey, I'm, like, curvy."

"You drank my beauty potion, you stupid snake!" snapped Keenai.

"Uh...what's a potion?" asked Vipra before giggling some more.  
Keenai paused before saying as a test, "New shoes."

"Ooh, really? Where?" asked Vipra, looking around.  
Keenai glared at that. "Devina...when I get back there..." she muttered

"Hey roomie, I'm gonna, like, look for cute boys now," said Vipra as she got up but almost immediately fell over because of her wildly different center of gravity and proportions. But she didn't mind a lot, she just giggled and said, "Oops, clumsy me."

Keenai rolled her eyes at that, muttering, "Should wear off soon, was made for me, not a dragon."

"Wear? Hmm...what am I gonna wear?" asked Vipra as she tried to get back up.

Keenai glared before saying, "Ye not going out in this state. Ye're supposed to be an evil genius, not a bimbo."

Vipra giggled and said, "Bimbo, teehee, what's a bimbo?"

"At the moment...you," snapped Keenai .

"Oh, ok," said Vipra before giggling.  
"Urgh...me trip's ruined," muttered Keenai . Just then, she heard Vipra grunting and she looked to see the bimbo dragon trying to pull on one of Keenai's spare bikinis. "What are ye doin'?" she demanded.

"I'm trying to, like, get dressed," said Vipra, "But you're too itty-bitty for me."

"I am not itty-bitty!" snapped Keenai. Vipra cocker her head before rejecting that reality. Keenai growled and snapped, "I'm going to deafen that cow Devina."

"And then...and then...she kicked me inna nuts," said Matt, wearing the smile of the extremely drunk .

"Mhm," said the bartender with practiced indifference. Matt had consumed just about every blend that included kr'ta before going straight to the kr'ta itself. Moneybags was staring in horror, wondering how anyone could survive that much kr'ta.

"You know, personally, I'm not certain how he does it either," said Chloe, "I can think of only two possible reasons: either our nanites are able to repair any damage we inflict upon our livers or our dragon nature simply makes them indestructible."

"I don't think it's either," said the barman, counting under his breath before Matt faceplanted into the bar .

"I said our livers can't be destroyed, not our brains," said Chloe before zapping Matt.

Matt got up at that. "You know...I'm supposed to be king...king of the plasma dragons," he slurred, staggering over to a cabinet

"Uh-huh, and you were...for about 10 minutes," said Chloe tauntingly.

"Well...I need...a crown," said Matt, headbutting the cabinet till it opened, a crown revealed.

"Sir, I would not advise putting that on," called Moneybags.

"I DON'T CARE...I AM THE DRAGON WHO WOULD BE KIIIING!" screamed Matt, putting it on his head . The crown sparkled a bit before sending a jolt into Matt's brain that seemed to clear out some of the drunken haze. Matt blinked before asking, "Did I just make myself look like an idiot?"

"Yes...yes you did," said Chloe, "Take it off."

Matt reached up and grabbed the crown. However, it didn't come away as easily as he would have thought. In fact, it seemed to be stuck tight. "Hey...No...not again...not another of those damn crowns...NOT HERE!" he screamed, pulling harder and harder at it .

Chloe sighed and said, "Fine, if you really need my help." She walked on over, grabbed the crown, and yanked hard.

"No...YOU'RE PULLING...MY...HEAD OFF!" yelled Matt in pain.

Moneybags sighed and said, "I warned you not to put that crown on."

"GET IT OFF MEE!" screamed Matt .

"I'm afraid removing is not that simple," said Moneybags as he walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a similar tiara, "You see, that crown and this tiara are a set and are bound by the same enchantment. When one is worn, the next person of the opposite gender who wears the other will be able to command the first for 24 hours. I believe it's usually the tiara that's used first, but clearly it works both ways."

Chloe tried to grab the tiara at that, Moneybags holding it away. "Oh, not so fast..." he said .

"Indeed so." Everyone turned to see Keenai back in a different tropical outfit, oddly accompanied by an anthro poison dragoness who was wearing a bikini set just barely adequate to cover her. "If anyone's gonna have that tiara, it's gonna be me," said Keenai.

"I wanna get it too, no you don't, SHUT UP, IT'S COFFEE TIME!" said the poison dragoness, causing everyone to jump back as she apparently had a small argument with herself.

Keenai sighed and said, "This is my traveling companion, uh, Vapra."

"Vapra? Ooh, I like it," giggled the poison dragoness.

Keenai sighed before everyone really jumped as Kala stomped in, in a bad mood.

"Matt, you better be ready to get into...what are you wearing?" asked Kala, looking at Matt.

"It's a dating crown, which won't come off until someone has worn its controlling tiara for 24 hours," said Chloe.

"Ooh, cool, I'll have that, if you please," said Kala brightly.

"Who says that you're gonna get it?" snapped Keenai.

"Agreed, if anyone should be controlling Matt, it should be me," said Chloe.

"But it's so shiny," said Vapra. The four of them started bickering loudly, the first three changing to their anthro forms for further emphasis.  
Vapra it turned out later was just going 'coffee' over and over until Moneybags finally yelled "ENOUGH! Seems to me there's only one solution to this debacle: a competition."

The three female Shars turned and demanded, "What kind of completion?"

"Will there be coffee?" asked Vapra.

"SHUT UP ABOUT THE COFFEE!" screamed Keenai as Moneybags said "Nope, a beauty competition," causing Chloe to start laughing .

"You have got to be joking," said Kala flatly.

"No, a fabulous beauty completion, sponsored by Moneybags Inc. of course, to determine which of our four lovely ladies deserved to be crowned as the fairest one of all."

Kala sighed and said, "That doesn't seem that fair."

"Agreed," said Keenai smugly, "I'm far too beautiful for these poor girls to dream to compete with me."

Chloe blinked before unending rage surfaced and she advanced on Moneybags with pain intent on being given out . "Er, now, now, violence never solved anything," said Moneybags nervously.

Matt nodded. "He's right. Just play along for now, then you can win the tiara and get this off me," said Matt .

"Her win? Ha! She is far too unfit to win," said Keenai.

Chloe spun and snapped, "_I'm_ unfit?! Look who's talking, Ms. Bones and Skins."

"I am the proper thinness a lady should have," said Keenai, "Ye're too uneven and rough."

"This is muscle; well-earned, hard-packed muscle!" snapped Chloe, flexing for emphasis.

"Oh, sure, I bet all the lads find that irresistible," said Keenai sarcastically.  
"Oh yeah?" snapped Chloe, looking at Keenai .

"But aren't I the prettiest?" asked Vapra.

"Shut up, bimbo!" snapped both Chloe and Keenai.

Vapra screamed "COFFEE!" causing the other two to roll their eyes .

Kala groaned and said, "I hope this thing isn't gonna take as long as think it will."  
Matt leaned in, "If you win, we could do lotsa...nocturnal activities together."

Kala grinned and said, "Even the stuff you're not so eager to do?"

"Well, I'm not sure about...oh, wait, I won't have a choice," said Matt.

Kala's eyes practically shone at that. "It's in the bag," she said confidently .

The next day, everyone on the island knew about the completion. Which wasn't that hard since there weren't that many people there that weren't natives. Naturally, the chief demanded to be able to watch the competition. And it was a bit hard to argue with an 8-foot boar on two legs.

Spyro was less than pleased, especially with Moneybags. It turned out the crown and tiara had a rather sordid history. "Moneybags, you had no business holding either of those artifacts," said Spyro.

"Oh, I wasn't planning on using them, of course," said Moneybags, "I was going to give them for a good price eventually. Perhaps this contest will promote some interest in them."

"They're dangerous. They caused a war between the earth and fire clans," snapped Spyro .

Moneybags paused and asked, "Did they now?"

"Yes, they should be locked up inside new Warfang," snapped Spyro angrily .

"Oh, I'm sure I'll be able to find someone there who'll be able to buy them," said Moneybags, "Now if you don't mind, I need to start this competition."

Spyro snarled at that, "If you charge a penny, I'll make sure you never sell another item on this world again."

Moneybags sighed and said, "Fine, I supposed some artifacts need to be...donated." He said that last word with much discomfort.

"I'm glad we see things the same way," said Spyro in a calmer voice

"Anyways, with the publicity of this competition, I'll soon have more than enough guests to make up for the loss," said Moneybags with relish. Spyro glared at that but didn't say anything, instead stomping out.

With that, Moneybags stepped out onto the stage and spoke into the microphone, "Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. The Luau Island Resort, owned and sponsored by Moneybags Inc., is proud to present our first ever 'Fairest in the Sand' competition. Today, four lovely dragonesses shall be striving to win this beautiful tiara, which will grant them a 24 hour date with the roguishly handsome Matthew Lynch, and the title of Miss Luau Island."  
There was an angry yell of "FUCK YOU, MONEYBAGS!" Moneybags calmly sidestepping a plasma blast

"Now, before we meet our contestants, let us first introduce our panel of judges," said Moneybags, waving to a table set aside, "First, to judge these dragonesses in style and coolness, we present intergalactic surfing robot, Dune Runner."

Dune Runner waved and said, "What's up bra? Dere is gonna be surfin' in dis contest, right?"

"I'm afraid we had to cut that part due to...environmental difficulties," said Moneybags, "Next, to judge these ladies in elegance and grace, we bring you a fair druid maid all the way from Fractured Forest, Elora."

Elora had changed quite a bit since the last time the gang has seen her. She was now a full-fledged centaur with four legs and a fully red tail. She wore a smaller top that showed off her stomach. "Thank you, Mr. Moneybags. I look forward to judging the dancing part of this contest."

"Unfortunately, the contestants protested that part and it had to be dropped," said Moneybags, "And finally, to judge these beauties for their charm and good looks, we present that greater critic of the female form, Christopher Anderson."

"Er, I was told there would be sand castle-building," said Chris unconvincingly.

"Actually, I believe I was straightforward when I said-" started Moneybags.

"Nope, sand castles, that's what I heard," interrupted Chris.

Matt was heard saying, "You are dead, Anderson." causing Chris to gulp and pull on his collar.

"And now, without further ado, we now introduce you to our contestants," said Moneybags, "Our first contestant is a fiery creature who has a very strong grip on Master Lynch's heart and is willing to defend her claim. Please give a warm welcome to Miss Kala."

Kala walked in, all smiles, before saying out the corner of her mouth to Moneybags. "When this is over, your arse is mine," before she continued waving.

"Ahem, our next contestant is a bit of an odd one. Rather than fighting for his heart, this electrifying lady is Lynch's own sister who seems to have something to prove today. But do not let that deter you. Give a thunderous welcome to Miss Chloe."

Chloe stalked in at that, adding for Moneybags' benefit, "I hold you responsible for this. I'm helping Kala crush you."

"Er, our next contestant is one who's in it to win. This beautiful banshee has set her heart on winning Lynch and is not going to let anyone stand in her way. So scream out your admiration for Miss Keenai."

Miss Keenai walked in at that, whispering to Moneybags, "If I dannae win, I'll scream so loud yer brain melts."

"Uh...this brings us to our final contestant. This intoxicating dragoness is a mystery. Where does she come from, what does she want with Lynch? All we know is that she's here to put these other three to the test. Now let yourselves become addicted to Miss Vapra."

Vapra staggered in at that, looking a little shaky and a little more normal proportioned. She immediately headed for Moneybags who cringed before she said, "Where's the coffee machine?"

"It's, um, backstage, but stay here for just a little while longer," said Moneybags, sounding relieved.

"Coffee...need coffee..." gibbered Vapra, her caffeine-deprived mind wondering why an audience was in the cafeteria.

"Now then, you all know what they are competing for. The question is, what are they planning to do with their prize?" asked Moneybags before holding up a small ring, "This ring in conjunction with the Thoughtscreen, both products of Moneybags Inc., will allow these lovely ladies to show us their idea for a perfect day with Master Lynch. Vapra, my dear, would you like to be the first?"

"Can I have coffee?" asked Vapra.

"After you've shown us your ideal date," said Moneybags before slipping the ring on her finger.  
The imager started up to show Vapra apparently swimming in coffee beans. Matt was nowhere in sight.

There were quite a few sweatdrops from the audience. Vapra simply stared at the screen and said, "Mmm...coffee..."

"Er, the idea is for you to be showing how your date with Lynch will be," said Moneybags.

"Ok," said Vapra happily before the screen blurred and showed Matt buying Vapra coffee at a café.

Moneybags sighed and said, "Close enough. Chloe, you're next."

"But I wanna watch more coffee..." whined Vapra.

"Too bad, you're wasting our time," snapped Chloe as she tried to yank the ring off, but Vapra didn't want to give up her vision of coffee yet.

Just then, NegaMorph walked out from backstage holding four cups of coffee and asked, "Did someone order coffee?" It was later agreed that nobody deserved what Vipra did to get to that coffee...not even NegaMorph.  
Once the screaming was over, Chloe shakily put the ring on. To nobody's internal surprise, Chloe's 'dream date; was of Matt waiting on her hand and foot and Chloe decked out like Cleopatra.

"There's a good servant," said Queen Chloe, "Now, make sure everything is spotless before my husband arrives."

"Yes, my lady," said Slave Matt dully, "Your palace shall be cleaned before the arrival of King-"

Chloe quickly took the ring off and said a bit nervously, "Ok, that's enough about me. Someone else's turn now."

Kala walked forward, only to be pushed aside by Keenai who snatched the ring. "My turn," she snapped .

The screen showed an image of what looked like a medieval torture chamber, with Matt, only wearing a loincloth, lashed to the rack. But then Keenai walked in, wearing a dominatrix outfit. "Well, well," she said, "Someone's been a very bad boy. Someone needs extra punishment..."

This time it was Moneybags who snatched the ring, giving it to Kala. "Hatchlings might be watching," he said .

"Thank you," said Kala politely before slipping on the ring.

The image was actually quite pleasant, just Matt and Kala at a romantic meal and looking happy. Quite a few audience members went 'aww...' at the sight.

"Well, I think we can wager which one Lynch would prefer," said Moneybags, "But the real question is: can she earn him?"

"She'd better or you die!" yelled Matt from off stage .

Moneybags ignored Matt and said, "And there you have it, fans. Four dragonesses, one prize, who's going to win it all? Find out when we'll start our first stage of the Fairest in the Sand contest. Produced and sponsored by Moneybags Inc. at the Luau Island Resort."

Matt glared as the four contestants were led away before he rounded on Moneybags. "You...YOU...!" he snarled.

"Oh, you wish to inflict direct harm," said Moneybags calmly, "Proceed if you can." Matt roared before bring his claws down on Moneybags' head...and stopping a full inch. "The crown isn't just keep itself from being removed," said Moneybags, "It keeps you from hurting anyone. A very useful safety feature, don't you think?"

Matt smirked before taking a deep breath...

Megan, Mina and the experiments had managed to see the event on a holoviewer that Moneybags had put in his resort before they winced and heard the sound of every window in the resort conference hall, where the event had taken place, exploding as Matt unleashed his singing skills .

Fortunately, the singing stopped with a scream as Keenai came running to him calling, "Me darlin' destroyer," and causing Matt to flee at high speeds.

"How are we gonna help Matt?" asked Mina, the group naturally ignoring the now-normal sounds of Matt screaming as he ran from Keenai .

"There can't be a contest over Matt if he's not wearing the crown, right?" asked Megan.

"How do we get it off then?" said Contrinus with a sigh, pointing out, "It's kinda stuck to his head."

"We can use this," said Morph, holding up a big mallet.

"Morph...wouldn't a mallet just jam it on tighter?" said Megan .

Morph paused, looked at the mallet, and asked, "Wait, did we want it off or on?"

"We want it off," sighed Draco .

"Oh...how about this?" asked Morph, holding up a bottle of dish soap.

"Worth a try," said Draco, reaching for it only for it to shoot out his talons and out the window . "Hmm...extra slick," said Draco, "It just might work."

"Great, how do we get it?" said Contrinus calmly .

"Follow the bottle!" called Morph before jumping out the window.

Matt sighed, for once glad that security had forbidden the customers from being near him...meaning Keenai had been dragged off. He staggered into his room...and vanished under some bubbles. "Wha-glaglaglubglub!" gurgled Matt as he tried to swim his way out of the foam.

He finally pulled himself out of the bubbles and looked around. "Ok...who did this," he groaned . There was a quiver before a slightly larger bubble floated out of the foam, Morph inside it. "I should have known," said Matt dryly.

"Don't worry, we'll get it off," said Morph cheerfully .

Matt sighed before extending a claw and poking the bubble. It popped, but surprisingly, Morph disappeared as well. "Huh? Where did he go?" asked Matt.

Then he felt someone rubbing his head and Morph was heard saying, "Ok, just gotta lather up."

"MORPH!" roared Matt .

"Hey, do you want this crown all soapy and slick or not?" asked Morph pointedly.

"I just want it off and I know exactly where you've been!" yelled Matt .

"Hold your horses, I've just finished," said Morph before yanking at the crown.  
Matt said coldly and sarcastically, "Yeah...I can feel it _not_ moving."

"Hmm...I got it," said Morph before fastening a hook and rope to the ground. "Don't move," said Morph before heading outside with the other end of the rope.

"No...NO...NOPE!" screamed Matt .

"Take it away!" called Morph's voice before the line started to grow taut. Matt screamed as he was dragged out the door

"We bring you back to the Fairest in the Sand completion, hosted on Luau Island and sponsored by Moneybags Inc. For our first contest, these dragonesses are pitted against each other in a clash of speed, reflexes, agility, and strength. Or as you viewers may prefer to call it: beach volleyball. Of course, adding to the fun is that were counting points from the individuals as well as the teams," said Moneybags cheerfully .

"The game itself is simple, two teams of two, trying to spike the ball on the others' side. The team with the most points before time runs out wins. The player on the losing team with the least point is out. Elemental attacks are allowed, but only when applied to the magically-reinforced ball and within the perimeters of the playing field. And I guarantee you these young ladies are going to show some impressive moves in this game."

A ref bot scuttled up and said its preprogrammed speech about fair play before blowing a whistle .

"Serving up," called Kala before batting up the volleyball, which became engulfed in flames as it went over the net.

Keenai yelped and was forced to dive for cover as Kala seemed to accidentally send it at her head. As such, the ball landed in a fiery crater on Keenai's side, providing the first point for Kala's team. Keenai growled and snapped at Vapra, "Why dinnae ye stop it?"

Keenai immediately noticed that Vapra was sleeping standing up. "Oh fer the love o'..." grumbled Keenai before shouting, "Oy, can we get some coffee out here?"

A side linesboar said, "She should not have that...human dri-" before Vapra, aroused by the mention of coffee tackled him .

Kala grinned at Chloe and said, "This will be too easy."

"Yeah, I was hoping for a better challenge," said Chloe, sounding disappointed.

Vapra finally came back with a steaming cup of coffee, Keenai stopping her briefly. "Ye know, Vapra, I know of an even better type of coffee," said Keenai.

"Really? Where?" asked Vapra excitedly.

Keenai pulled out what looked like a striped coffee bean before dropping it in the coffee. "Ok, drink it before it dissolves the cup," she commanded . Vapra shrugged before downing the whole thing in one gulp. "Huh, dinnae think a poison dragon could drink something that hot," said Keenai.

Vapra went bug-eyed at that, before to her, the world froze in place and she entered a state of happy bliss.

"Uh, Vapra, caaan yoooouuuu heeeeeeeaaaaaarrrrrr mmmmmmmmeeeeeeeee?" asked Keenai, though her voice sounded increasingly slower.

Vapra just laughed happily before tapping Keenai on the nose and skipping off in the direction of the cafeteria, coming back with more coffee, downing it all.

Of course, everything just seemed slowed down to her because Vapra was now running on hyperactive super-caffeine-speed. As such, it appeared to them that Vapra had vanished. Also, Keenai had apparently been smacked into the ground as if she had been hit by an invisible car at a very peculiar angle.

"Do we win?" called Chloe.

"Er, we need to find out what's become of Ms. Vapra first," said Moneybags.  
Chloe sighed before noticing a blue zooming around the arena, concentrated near the cappuccino machine that was rapidly refilling cups over and over . "Hmm, we might find out after the coffee runs dry," she said.

Just then, the blur stopped to reveal Vapra. "What? No coffee? That's the most ridiculous thing I've...ever...I feel funny," she said before suddenly, she fell to all fours, her swimsuit now hanging loosely off her non-morphic frame.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Moneybags, "It looks like you're no longer able to compete. That means, Kala, Chloe, and Keenai progress to the next round."  
Vapra looked confused before shrugging and returning to the coffee machine .

"You think she'd get caffeine poisoning by...oh, wait, she's a poison dragoness," said Chloe.

"Ok, it's time for the next event," called Moneybags .

Keenai turned to the other two and said, "Don't think ye've got an easy shot at winnin'. Vipra was always fickle an' likely ta lose. But I'm gonna be a lot harder ta beat."

"Yeah, sure," said Chloe dismissively, "Say Kala, after we're done, you wanna have a volleyball match?"

"Might be too busy with Matt," said Kala.

"Ha, like that's about to happen," said Chloe.  
Keenai glared at that. "Ye better take me serious, lasses," she snarled .

"If it were a straight-out fight," said Chloe, "When it comes to beauty...I actually don't take anything that seriously. But I'd take you a little less seriously."

Keenai snarled at that, readying a scream to melt Chloe's Mind before Moneybags called, "Are you ready?"

"Sure, what's the next round?" asked Kala.

"Oh, nothing much, just a swim across the bay," said Moneybags casually.

Chloe paused at that. "Water?" she said flatly, "As in the stuff that conducts electricity?"

"The stuff that douses fire?" asked Kala slightly nervously.

"The stuff that empowers sound?" asked Keenai, sounding smug.  
Moneybags frowned. "No elements allowed," he scolded .

Chloe and Kala gave sighs of relief but Keenai frowned in disappointment.

"Look...I'm not so certain this is a good idea," said Matt, looking nervously as the cutting laser being rolled into position by Chip.

"Don't worry, the mathematics regarding this is very sound," said Chip.

"That's what worries me," moaned Matt

"We're going to use a low intensity," said Chip, "The worst that can happen is that you'll have a line around your head that'll go away after a few days."

"While we're at it, you got any tattoos we should remove?" asked Draco.

Matt whimpered as the laser heated up, before screaming as he saw everyone wearing radiation suits . "Oh don't be such a baby," said Chip, "This is science."

Moneybag wandered along before jumping as one of the shacks exploded, something shooting skywards on a pillar of smoke, Matt, glowing faintly, staggering out the ruins.

"Ah, Master Lynch, I'm sure you'll be gladdened to know that the second round is about to begin," said Moneybags.

"The lemons sing Machu Pichu," gibbered Matt, falling face first into the sand .

Moneybags looked down at Matt and said, "Hmm, perhaps we ought to wait a while before we start."

"My feet are made of bananas," gibbered Matt.

"Welcome, ladies and gentledragons to our next event," called Moneybags, an unconscious Matt propped up on a seat with sunglasses hiding his closed eyes .

"Some of you may have found our last round to be anti-climactic, but I assure you that you shall not be disappointed with this round," said Moneybags, "Now our three competitors must match their strength against nature itself. They shall have to cross the bay with nothing but their arms, legs, and tails for support? Have they got the endurance to make it? What do our judges say?"

"I be hopin' from some good skills from Kala," said Dune Runner calmly .

"I know the competitors aren't supposed to use their elements, but I am curious about how well a sound dragoness can swim," said Elora.

"I'm a fear dragon!" snapped Keenai.  
Chris said happily, "I'm sure Chloe will do wonderfully."

"And there you have it," said Moneybags, "Once our girls have finished limbering up, they'll be swimming for the other side of the bay. Don't worry, there shouldn't be anything in the water they can't handle."  
A second later, an explosion was heard, a fried shark seen flying through the skies. Quite naturally, the shark ended up landing on Matt.

"He ok?" asked Chris when Matt didn't even react.

"Mmm...fishy..." said Matt dully before gnawing on the shark.

…

Chloe however seemed in trouble, her powers going a bit nuts in the salt water. It was hard enough to keep it in with fresh water. She even had to use a special shower gel to avoid electrocuting herself. But salt water was not supportive to electricity users.

She finally screamed as the electricity turned on her, Matt waking up at that.

…

"Chloe? Where is she?" asked Matt frantically before looking down and asking, "Whose shark is this?" Another scream was heard, causing Matt to spin and see what was going on...before he grabbed Moneybags. "You made my sister swim in water? You know what that does to electrical dragons?!" he snapped .

"I told them not to use their elemental powers," said Moneybags.

"She doesn't have a choice~" snapped Matt .

"What? But I thought she had mastered her powers. That was the impression you two constantly gave off," said Moneybags, now sounding worried.

"In full form, yes. You're having her go around in her anthro form!" snapped Matt .

"That shouldn't have made a difference," said Moneybags, now sounding frantic, 'Oh dear, if I actually lose one of the competitors, I'll be ruined. No one will want to come to my resort. My stocks will crash with a bigger explosion than one of your spaceships."

Matt growled at that, ignoring the pain the crown put on him as he lifted Moneybags up. "That is my _sister_ out there," he growled .

There was a splash and they both looked to see Chris have jumped into the water and swimming out. Matt said coldly, "She had better be ok."

"Er, I'm certain it won't be anything of a serious medical nature," said Moneybags nervously. Matt dropped Moneybags at that, looking over to see his sister being helped ashore, Moneybags saying, "Of course, she's disqualified."

"What?!" snapped Matt.

"Well, she didn't finished the race," said Moneybags, "Anyways, she's in no condition right now to continue competing."

Chris managed to stop Matt trying to kill Moneybags at that. "He's right, as much as I hate to admit it. I'll take her up to her room."

After Chloe was taken away, Matt growled to Moneybags, "If Kala is hurt in this last round..."

"I assure you that will not happen, "said Moneybags," Your sister's accident was a result of...unexpected occurrences. Kala is no danger whatsoever."

"I hope so. Spyro forgives...I don't," said Matt coldly .

"Yes, well, I think we can wait until your sister has recovered her strength before moving on to the next round," said Moneybags.

"No, we get this madness over and done with," snarled Matt .

"Er, as you wish," said Moneybags, "I'll just get things organized for the final event."

"NOW Moneybags!" snapped Matt, his eyes actually catching fire . The bear quickly hurried off as fast as he could go. Which, unsurprisingly, wasn't very fast considering his girth.

Matt turned as Kala and Kenai headed towards him. "Matt, what happened to Chloe?" asked Kala with worry.

"She short-circuited in the seawater," said Matt, "She'll be fine, but she's out of the contest."

"Guess she couldn't cut it," said Keenai in an amused voice...before screaming in shock as Matt slashed at her.

"Let me be clear: you and me...are _not_ a thing," he hissed .

"But we're-"

"No, there's no 'we', there's no 'our'," snapped Matt, "I'm going to put this as bluntly as possible to make sure you understand this: I _hate_ you. I wouldn't choose you if we were the last two dragons in the multiverse, or even if we were the last two humans. I have absolutely no desire to even be near you. Now stop your stupid self-delusion and start chasing someone who'll actually stand your presence." Keenai looked like someone had just shot her puppy and then taxed her for the bullets used.

Matt turned to Kala and said, "You better win this contest. I'll even try to push Zara into saying this will be your official claim match over me. I want to put an end to all this nonsense today and no later." With that, he turned and flew off.

Kala looked over to see Keenai in tears before said, "Keenai...look...he's just upset..."

"DON'T YE DARE TRY TO PITY ME!" snapped Keenai, "Ye think ye've earned a life without troubles? Ye barely know what trouble is. And ye've hardly done anything ta earn it. Ye were created ta be a servant ta a human and that's what ye still are. He may say he cares for ye, but yer still his slave and ye haven't earned him! Ye can't even be a proper mate fer him. Everyone knows ye can't bear young!"

Kala just stared at that as Keenai began to walk off before she said, "Have we met before?"

Keenai froze and asked, "What makes ye say that?"

"You remind me of someone back at the lab...one of the other 700 series experiments," said Kala .

"Ye're clearly wrong," snapped Keenai, "Ye must be mistakin' me fer someone else."

Kala nodded, shaking her head. "You're right, I actually got along with her," she said bitterly, adding, "And she definitely would hate you."

Keenai seemed a little surprised before flying off.

Unfortunately for Keenai, Zara wasn't as incapacitated as when she had last seen her. She sobered up after the alcohol and Lax's lazy beam wore off. Even worse, she was willing to make the final the official duel between them. "It's high time we stop putting this thing off," said Zara, "I'm getting more than a little tired of the complaints related to your trying to claim Matt."

"But you said he was mine tae claim," complained Keenai angrily .

"Yes, he was, but you've taken too long to actually cement your claim," said Zara, "Besides, Kala has the right to test your claim and she's already cleared the requirements needed to face you."

Keenai snarled at that, Zara looking less than impressed. "If you were really so confident in your abilities, you wouldn't be worried if Kala could beat you," said Zara calmly.

Keenai snapped, "I can beat that two-bit..." only for Zara to snap, "Then do it, actions are better than empty talk."

"I'll show ye. I'LL SHOW ALL OF YE!" snapped Keenai before flying off.

Moneybags called out, "Welcome to the final event of our competition. A one on one duel between Kala Triseptus and Keenai. And this isn't just any duel. This duel will be the official one to determine which of these dragonesses deserves the honor of being Matthew Lynch's mate. With this in mind, we've prepared a very special kind of duel for these two to use."

With that, the bear pointed to a log sitting in the middle of a lake. "The rules are simple: brute force, no elemental powers and no flight, first off the log loses," said Moneybags . The two contestants were delivered to their destination via hover platforms, armed with nothing but staffs. "Let the best dragoness win," called Moneybags, before letting off an air horn .

"Take a dive right now, it'll save ye the bruises later," said Keenai.

"If you smack hard as much as you smack talk, I might be intimidated," said Kala.

Keenai snarled and aimed a blow at Kala at that, Kala easily ducking it . Kala jabbed with her staff, causing Keenai to hop backwards and rock the log. Kala staggered, causing Keenai to smirk and start to walk back on her end of the log, causing it to roll in the water .

"Oh, so you want to do some logrolling, eh?" asked Kala before she started making the log spin in the water.

Keenai snarled before she was forced to dodge another blow, almost spreading her wings before she stopped herself. "Let's see how well Taleth taught you," said Kala before striking multiple times. To her credit, Keenai managed to parry each blow despite the spinning log .

"I have to say, I'm impressed," said Kala.

"You're gonna be more than impressed," said Keenai before jumping over Kala to the other end of the log. Kala yelped as a blow hit her across the back of the head, several boos from the shore proving the audience hadn't been impressed .

"Ye flames can dance, but fear is untouchable," boasted Keenai.

Kala glared before smirking and digging her foot claws into the wood, bringing the log to a sudden stop under Keenai. Keenai staggered as she tried to get her claws in. "Fear's not as unbeatable as you think. All it takes is a little courage," said Kala before bring her staff down on top of Keenai's head.

Keenai went rigid from shock at that, allowing Kala to simply push her off the log. Keenai fell into the water with a splash and the spectators roared with applause.

Kala slowed to a halt and smirked as Keenai resurfaced, looking livid. "You lose," said Kala.

"I'm not gonna forgive this!" snapped Keenai, "And I'm not gonna let ye have Matt!" With that, she let out an ear-splitting shriek that made everyone start writhing in pain. Keenai glared as she continued the scream before a plasma blast hit her in the back.

Fortunately, that made her stop her screaming. She turned and snapped, "Who dares to-" before a lightning bolt hit her, amplified by the water she was in.

Matt and Chloe came down to a hover above her. "I warned you...get...out…" growled Matt .

"Ye...can't...make..." groaned Keenai before Matt and Chloe both hit her with a blast that caused an explosion and sent her flying off into the horizon.  
Matt blinked, "Oh...Deja vu...plus she's getting good air."

"Probably not the last we'll see of her," said Chloe.

"Yeah, but now she can't have an official claim on me," said Matt with a grin.

Chloe nodded before Matt suddenly went rigid. Chloe turned to notice that Moneybags had given Kala the tiara and she was wearing it proudly. "Now let's see, what's the first thing I want to do with Matt?" she asked herself.

Chloe just sighed, muttering, "Please don't humiliate him."

"Oh, like you wouldn't have done?" asked Kala dryly.

Kala then looked to see Matt's blank face before saying, "It wouldn't be the same...take the damn crown off."

"Really? You're letting him out? Just like that?" asked Moneybags.

"Of course. Matt isn't Matt like that," said Kala promptly as Matt took the crown off and came to his senses .

"It's off? It's off! Finally it's off!" yelled Matt with delight before trying to blast the crown, only for the shot to rebound on him.

"Ah, they would have fetched up quite a price," said Moneybags with regret.

Kala sighed happily. "He's back," she said as Matt was knocked out by the rebound .

Zara landed and said, "Now that you have..." She paused when she noticed Matt was unconscious before grabbing him by the leg and dunking him in the water.

Kala sighed as Matt, now awake, was dumped back on the sand. "You were saying?" she said dryly to Zara .

"Now that you have completed your challenge to earn Matt, I assume you two will want to do your mating ceremony soon," said Zara.

Matt and Kala seemed to simultaneously start choking at that, Zara grinning to herself . "But before you two start planning your wedding, there's something I need to say," said Zara before getting very close to Matt's face and baring her teeth. "You messed around with my mind and made me behave in an extremely undignified fashion. If you ever do that again, I will make sure you will not ever be allowed within this solar system again." Then she took a deep breath and said, "That being said, I've had more fun than I've ever had in years."

"It wasn't me though," said Matt in a tiny voice as Zara walked off.

"Well, I'm not quite sure about getting married quiet yet, but I do want to celebrate," said Kala.

Matt nodded, "There's still a few days left here."

"How about we celebrate more privately first?" asked Kala suggestively.

Matt smiled at that, the two walking off.

* * *

Well, there's the penultimate chapter. Finally, the gang have seen the last of Keenai for this chapter. Don't expect a wedding anytime soon though. That'd be a long time away from here. But there's still one chapter left of this fic and it's going to be uploaded a little later this week. Keep an eye out for it and please review.


	9. Exposing the Elements

**Voyagers Saga**

**The Sundered World**

**Chapter 9: Exposing the Elements.**

From an outsider's point of view, everything seemed to be going alright for Matt and his crew. They had safe harbor on Avalar and won't be handed over to the NSC, Keenai has officially lost her claim for Matt's hand and hasn't been seen since, and Matt and Kala were now engaged. Well, technically, by Avalarian law. They didn't seem particularly earnest to say they're ready to marry by human terms. And yet, Matt was still prone to bouts of broodiness. Well...broodiness was probably the wrong word.

"No...I'm not paranoid...I'm just convinced that something bad's gonna happen," he gibbered .

"Uh huh, unless soothsaying is a plasma dragon power, I'm not buying it," said Chloe.

"Ok...name all the times that something bad _hasn't_ happened after we had good luck," said Matt pointedly .

Chloe paused and looked thoughtful. "Well?" demanded Matt after a while.

"Hang on, there's a lot to go through," said Chloe.

"See? So much shit that you can't keep track!" he snapped .

"Ok, Tiresias, so when and where can we expect the oncoming doom?" asked Chloe dryly.

"Hell if I know. That's why I'm prepared," said Matt manically .

"You know, you can take some time to relax during the calm," said Kala.

"No...that's what its waiting for," said Matt manically .

The two girls sighed and Kala said, "Matt, you can't really expect something to happen the moment we let our guards down..." Just then, a shimmering blue portal appeared near them, making everyone jump back.

"SEE?" screamed Matt, readying a plasma orb .

However, instead of some eldritch abomination coming out of the portal, what emerged was what looked like a phantom wearing a cloak made out of tiny computer screens, including a larger screen where the opening of his hood would be. "Ah, good, you three are all in one place," said Cydra calmly.

"YOU'RE WORSE!" screamed Matt, tossing the plasma orb.

As the plasma orb was about to hit Cydra, his body seemed to unfold around it, allowing it to pass through him and into the portal. "Hey, that's pretty-" started Matt before a smaller portal opened up right behind Matt's head and the plasma orb shot out and hit him.

Chloe just sighed before saying, "Ok, why are you here? It's never a social call."

"Well, I'm here to address a few concerns," said Cydra, "I know that by now, all three of you has experienced the third side of your Shar-Ekta upgrade."

"Yeah...the elemental freak out side," said Kala darkly.

"Yes, doubtlessly, you realize there are dangers to this side, and not just for yourselves," said Cydra.

"That we could turn into mindless monsters? No, we hadn't noticed," said Matt bitterly .

"Your elemental sides are not mindless," said Cydra, "They are...detached from the physical plane. They're more concerned with the elemental plane than what is going on around them and the violence they encounter makes them respond in kind."

"Needless to say, bad for us," snapped Matt .

"Indeed, I would recommend learning more about your enhanced natures from an elder of your kind, except that you three are the _first_ of your kind. Well, unless Alayshia has been working on more," said Cydra.

"I hope he hasn't. That guy was nuts in any era," said Chloe grimly .

"Not insane, unfettered, particularly by morals," said Cydra before sighing and saying, "Therefore, since there are no other available teachers and there is certain disaster awaiting if you attempt to teach yourselves, I will guiding you through the basics."

"No, I don't want to be an elemental, turning into a dragon every time I fall asleep is enough for me!" snapped Matt .

"There are going to be times when being a dragon won't be enough to survive," said Cydra, "Ignoring your problem is only going to make it worse."  
"Like that is a problem. In a few months I'm gonna be a permanent resident," snapped Matt, grabbing Cydra and pushing him back

Cydra chuckled and said, "That is not quite accurate. The Shar-Khan's old flaw is not present in your upgrade."

"Then why can't he change back to his human form?" asked Chloe.

"Because Alayshia has been working on his old mistakes," said Cydra, "The Shar-Virk upgrade was only produced because of the flaw that occurs later in the Shar-Khan's lifespan. However, this upgrade made the Shar-Virk more open to corruption. Alayshia suspects it may be due to the 'malicious nature' of human beings."  
Chloe opened her mouth to object before conceding the point .

"Therefore, with the Shar-Ekta upgrade, Alayshia decided that instead of trying to make the human side more dominant and therefore corruptible, he would attempt to bring the two sides into harmony," said Cydra before turning to Matt and asking, "Have you been having trouble maintaining your pure dragon form?"

"I can't even access it. I'm trapped like this!" snapped Matt .

"Just as I thought," said Cydra, "And the reason you can't access it is because it's being process for total emersion with your new DNA sequence. You cannot access your dragon form because it is resequencing, you cannot access it because it's getting ready to shut down."

"Hey, the last thing I need is it to shut down. Not when half the dragon populace is worried by me as it is," snapped Matt .

"Oh, they won't worry about it for long," muttered Cydra.

"What was that?" demanded Matt.

"Oops, did I let that slip?" asked Cydra, "Well, anyways, your Shar-Ekta programming has made your hybrid state your final form." He paused a moment and looked thoughtful, "Your elemental side might manifest in some way, but I'm not entirely certain how."

Matt just slumped down. "So we're never going home," he said in a dull voice.

"To your original homeworld, I'm afraid not," said Cydra. Matt snarled and slammed Cydra hard against the wall. "Ok, maybe I hit a nerve?" said Cydra, an image of a sweatdrop appearing on his screens .

"It was all I ever wanted!" snapped Matt, "If Chloe hadn't gone and disappeared, I'd still be looking for a way to go back home! Is that too much to ask?!"

"No, but consider this," said Cydra, "If you were able to go home right now, with no issues of species, technology, or any other hindrances, do you think you'd be able to adjust to complete normality?"

"I'd damn well try...our parents probably think were dead. I never even got a chance to say bye to them. The last thing I ever said was that me and Chloe would be right behind them," said Matt, in a anguish-filled voice .

Cydra was silent for a long while before saying, "It would probably cost me greatly, but I might, emphasis on _might_, be able to send them a final message from you two. I can't do it right now, I'd need to get some...authorization first. Don't ask me to try and bring them here, the shock of exiting their universe alone might drive them mad, if not outright kill them."

Matt paused before saying, "No...No, I don't want a message sent. They wouldn't know us anymore...and it would just sadden them."

"If there was anything I could, I would try," said Cydra, "Perhaps I _might_ arrange for a pair of copies to be sent back to that exact time, ones that would have thought that exhibit was a dud and went on with their lives. It wouldn't be you but it might better than having you disappear off the face of the earth."

Matt glared before saying, "Ok...but if I ever suspect you lied about this or if you mess up in any way..."

"I swear upon my honor as an...ancient," said Cydra, his body flashing for a moment.

"Does that count for anything?" asked Chloe.

Cydra turned to her and said, "You have no idea and you do _not_ want to know what would happen if I broke my word."

Matt glared before letting Cydra go. Cydra straightened out his cloak and said, "Now then, back to the original reason for my visit, I cannot teach you everything there is about your elemental sides, you'd have to work them out yourselves since you're the first. But I can teach you basic control and how your elemental powers can be used in mortal form. But not right here."

"Why not?" asked Kala.

"Because this isn't a cross-dimensional communication, I'm actually here. Hence why Matthew was able to grab me," said Cydra, "We need a place more isolated, someplace where nature is more abundant and untouched."

"There's the desert, nobody's there," suggested Matt.

"Good, also less things to get scorched, burned, and blown up," said Cydra, "Meet me there in one hour. And please don't tell anyone about me. It could lead to too many complications."

"I thought you said 'deserted'?" snapped Chloe, pointing to the half-broken wall of the ape city, the trio standing in the desert

"Well, the apes have been wiped out or reduced to undead skeletons, right?" asked Matt.

Cydra materialized at that. "Ok, let's get this show on the...is that a city over there?" he said, his tone turning dull as he spotted the ape city .

"An abandoned city," said Matt, "Should be useful for target practice, right?"

"You did check it, right?" said Cydra carefully.

"Uh...well...if there were apes living there, they would have rebuilt their city by now," said Matt.

"Not necessarily...oh well, time waits for no carbon-based lifeform," said Cydra, clapping his hands together . The group suddenly found themselves transported about 50 miles away, the city being a smudge on the horizon. "Now then, before we start, can any of you tell me exactly what an elemental is?" asked Cydra.

"Energy based lifeform, classified as Type Z as they attack people on sight usually," said Chloe promptly .

"Good, though that is not entirely correct," said Cydra, "Elementals are the manifestations of their respective elements, as such they're not always in energy form. And not all elementals are vicious. Most just want to be left alone and attack those who disturb their elements. One example of a benign elemental are the Anodites of Anodyne, which are elementals of mana, the substance of magic. Most believe they're simply aliens, but like elementals, they have no DNA unless they assume another species' form."  
Kala raised a hand at that before saying, "So...if they're energy-based lifeforms, how'd the mad doc add them to our nanites?"

"Excellent question," said Cydra, "The answer lies within the dragons' evolutionary history. Ages ago, when they were at the same evolutionary notch as humanity's anthropoid ancestors, the elementals used them as hosts or assumed their form to influence the evolutionary direction of the dragons. Why they did so is uncertain, but their very DNA is sensitive to the elements. What Alayshia did was rearrange your human and dragon genes so that the ones most receptive to elemental power would able to actively channel the energy required to make you into energy forms yourselves. I could go on, but I assume none of you have the proper education to understand it."

"I lost you at 'answer lies'," admitted Matt

Cydra sighed and said, "I suppose you'll care enough about the technicalities when you start sprouting elemental spikes."

"What?!" yelled the trio.

"Don't worry, that won't be for decades...perhaps," said Cydra, "Anyways, what's important right now is learning how to harmonize with the elements. It does not do to focus on just your own element. There's a whole elemental plane coexisting with the mortal one. There could be dozens of elementals passing by, not paying attention to anything outside their plane unless it provokes them. When you can sense the elemental plane in your mortal forms, you'll be more aware of the mortal plane when in elemental form."

"Nice. Now about these spikes..." began Matt .

Cydra sighed and said, "You're not gonna stop asking about them until I give you a solid answer, are you?"

"Hell no, spikes are never good," said Matt .

"Fine, if only to alleviate your worries. I have estimated what's most likely to be the final forms you three assume in your life forms. Assuming you don't do anything to alter it, this is what your future selves would look like."

With that, he projected a holographic field which soon materialized three life-sized images in front of the trio. In front of each of them was what looked like their anthro dragon form, only slightly taller and in better physical shape than they were normally. Most noticeably was that there were large spikes growing from their shoulders, calves, and along their tails colored the same color of their respective elements. They also had 'hair' made of that same element with similar projections of elemental energies coming from the ends of their tail and filling out the membranes of their wings. Their eyes were also solid forms of energy, but didn't seem to have the same indifference or wrath of their elemental forms.

"As long as we aren't kill crazy..." said Matt reluctantly .

"Depends on how well you stick to your mediation," said Cydra.

Kala looked her future self up and down and said, "I have to admit that I do look pretty badass."

"I figured one of you will say that," said Cydra.

"But will we be able to shift forms at that stage?" asked Chloe.

"Maybe, you'll definitely be able to go full element then, and you might have picked up enough magic to do some shapeshifting yourself," said Cydra before turning off the hologram.

"Ok...you realize I have a short attention span, right?" said Matt, before turning his gaze to a passing desert lizard which was staring at him.

"Then I suppose I better move on to the lesson itself," said Cydra.

"Just one more thing," said Kala, "You seem to know a lot about elementals."

"Well, I am an ancient," said Cydra.

"It's not just that," said Kala, 'You seem to have a better idea of how they work, and I presume that ancients don't have the patience to focus completely upon one species for ages. You have a deeper connection than that, don't you?"

Cydra paused before slowly grasping his face screen. He pulled it off as his other hand lowered his hood. Underneath, was what looked like a floating processor connected by a few wires to the machinery in his torso. A few sparks of light blue energy sparked across the empty area before an energy field shimmered into place, showing the vaguest impression of ears, nose, and mouth. The eyes were unmistakable, looking far more solid than the rest of the flowing blue energy.

"So...you started life as a robot?" asked Matt, once he was sure he wasn't dying of terror.

"At one stage," said Cydra, his voice echoing more than before, "My life has gone through multiple stages over the eons. But all you need to know right now is that I'm part elemental like yourselves, but not completely like you." With that, he allowed his screens to float back into place, reassembling his hood and face screen.

Matt sighed at that, "Ok...I submit that you know your stuff."

"Now then, let's move on to your first lesson; sensing the elemental plane. You may want to sit down, this could take a while," said Cydra.

"Devina...Raptor..." Ghoulwyrm yelled, looking around before saying in a reluctant voice "Vipra?" When no response came, Ghoulwyrm growled. That chaos creature had incapacitated his brain for several days, making him think and say things he didn't want to remember. But now that his head had cleared, it seemed no one was willing to get near him.

He stopped as he could hear voices from the next room. "I still can't believe that fool is the 'leader' of our order," said Raptor's voice.

"But...isn't he supposed to be the Dark Master?" asked Scorch's voice.

"Ha! I knew the _true_ Dark Master and that rotting fossil is hardly an acceptable successor," said Raptor dismissively.

Ghoulwyrm stopped at that. He knew from experience that the best response was to be calm and collected...with that thought, he atomized the door and the surrounding wall with a dark energy blast, revealing his subordinates seated round a pile of ash that had been their table and covered in soot. "Oh...erm...hi boss?" said Vipra, for once, not high on coffee.

"So, I see there is some doubt about my leadership," said Ghoulwyrm in a false clam, "Some thoughts that I'm not cut out to be able to pick up where Malefor left off, hmm?"

"Not exa-" began Devina before Raptor said bluntly "You are a weakling, afraid of those humans and their feeble weapons."

"Weakling? Is it a show of weakness to be a master of necromancy and other dark arts? To have the combined powers of many monsters of the night?" asked Ghoulwyrm.

"You have all of their combined _weaknesses_," said Raptor, "And that makes you embarrassingly vulnerable and trivial to defeat."

Scorch stared as Ghoulwyrm went rigid before he yelled "HE'S GONNA BLO"2 he and Vipra hiding before Ghoulwyrm yelled "RIGHT! You want power...I'LL BLOODY GIVE IT TO YOU! I'll summon the golems of the deep and let em loose to do our bidding."

"Ghoulwyrm, don't lose your reason," said Devina, "The golems of the deep are the most powerful force in this world. Even Malefor could only point them in the right direction."

"Well, in that case, I'll surpass him. He was a brute force magic user. I am a professional," said Ghoulwyrm with a mad gleam in his eyes before flouncing off and opening a random door.

There was a pause before Raptor said dismissively, "He just went into a closet. There's no way he'd even be able to nudge the golems awake, let alone control them."

A sizzling nose got their attention before Scorch opened the closet and saw that the wall behind was now molten. "Then again..." he said.

Devina glared at Raptor and said, "If he ends up destroying the world, I blame you for this."

"Gah, this is useless!" snapped Matt, standing up angrily

"That's because you're not _concentrating_," said Cydra sternly.

"You realize this is Matt, we're talking about," said Chloe, "He has borderline ADD."

"I do not!" snapped Matt, "And you're hardly doing better than I am!"

"Maybe it's because her meditation mantra is 'this is stupid, this is stupid,'," said Kala dryly.

"Oh, like the genetic experiment can contact nature better than we can," snapped Chloe.  
"Oh please, at least we're in the right place," snapped Kala, igniting a fireball for emphasis

"Enough!" ordered Cydra before sighing and said, "I suppose I should have expected this. I guess I will have to use this after all." A large vial filled with a green liquid appeared in his hand.

"What's that?" asked Chloe.

"This elixir is used by various tribes of shamans on Earth, each tribe having a slight variation but all are meant to be able to allow contact with the spirit world. This variation is more attuned to the elemental plane," said Cydra.

"So we just drink it or inject it?" asked Kala.

"No, you breathe in the fumes," said Cydra as he opened the vial and allowed the vapors to come out.  
"Is this made of mushrooms?" asked Matt, as Kala got a dazed look.

"Well...partially," said Cydra before waving the vapors over to Matt.

"This is just going to make us stoned-out hippies, isn't it?" asked Chloe dryly.

"No, you're trying to find the elemental plane, hippies are trying to find Euphoria," said Cydra with equal dryness.

"And what the smeg...is...Eu..." started Chloe before looking at Matt who had incredibly spaced-out grin on his face. "He drank it directly, didn't he?" asked Chloe with embarrassment.

Cydra looked at his vial and saw a noticeable portion was missing. "It seems so...oh dear."

The duo winced as Matt fell face first into the sand, saying "My feet are singing."

"Let us hope his mind doesn't drift too far off," said Cydra.

"It's not going anywhere," said Chloe bluntly.

"On the contrary," said Cydra, "His consciousness is now adrift, untethered to one place of existence. Let's hope he doesn't go into anyone unfriendly planes."  
"So...he's lost his mind? How can you tell the difference?" said Chloe dryly.

Matt landed in what appeared to be a grey rock area, looking around before noticing his hand was translucent. "Oh...dammit," he groaned before turning to see what looked like Cthulhu. "Mother," he whimpered.

"So I suppose I'll have to go rescue him," said Chloe before taking the vial.

"I wouldn't do that," said Cydra, "There's no guarantee you'd end up in the same plane as him."

Cydra suddenly paused, looking past to see a mindflayer, one of Cthulhu's guards, looking rather ill and holding Matt. "Is this yours?" it said in an echoing voice before groaning.

"Indeed, and I'd like to have him back," said Cydra sternly.

"Just take him. He gave my lord food poisoning. Never met a soul so insane," said the guard, throwing Matt's essence at his body hard enough to cause the body to go flying over a dune .

"I should have known," said Cydra, "Well, tell your master I'll make certain he won't trouble him again. Also, remind him that we still have that chess game and we're only supposed to keep it within four dimensions."

"Fine..." said the guard, vanishing before time returned and a groan was heard.

"Erm...why has my brother teleported over the horizon?" said Chloe darkly

"Ah, that's right, you couldn't perceive that," said Cydra, "Well, let's just say he's had a lesson in moderation that he shouldn't soon forget."

"Ok...I..." said Chloe before pausing, as she felt like she was suddenly in an arctic wind.

Kala actually shivered before the sensation passed. "What was that?" she asked.

"The preceding wind of a storm on the horizon," said Cydra grimly.

Chloe looked around before saying, "I don't see any clouds."

Cydra sighed and said, "It's a metaphor, and as soon as you're able to sense the elemental plane, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about."

"OK, so Matt was right, what's coming?" said Chloe gloomily, predicting a world of 'I told you so's' in her future .

"Something you won't completely grasp until you gaze upon the elemental plane," said Cydra.

"Do we really have time for this?" asked Chloe.

"This has become more urgent than ever!" snapped Cydra, "Now please, try to find your elemental center, grasp for the energies around you, open your eyes to the other side."  
Kala glared before concentrating before her eyes crossed and she seemed to zone out . Her eyes also started glowing with a faint fiery light. "Ah, I thought she might be unhampered enough to be the first," said Cydra before turning to Chloe and said, "Your turn, block out all other distractions, don't even allow yourself to think, focus on opening your elemental eyes."

Chloe glared before trying, her eyes getting the same thing, just as Matt staggered back over the done and saw it, his brain jumping to the obvious and completely wrong conclusion. "Hey, leave their brains alone!" snapped Matt as he charged at Cydra.

"Try and make me," said Cydra smugly. Matt's eyes blazed with plasma energy before he froze and his face lost all emotion. "Thought that might be able to get him through that block," said Cydra.

It suddenly seem that Matt had fallen into some kind of psychedelic dream. Except he was exactly where he was before, it's just that everything had a different color. He could see the sands in mostly a green color with some red streaks throughout. The sky was grey and seemed to be flowing like water.  
He paused and looked down to see his hands looked neon blue. "Oh, god, I look like Dr. Manhattan with clothes..." he muttered darkly before he looked around, "Well, for nervous breakdown hallucinations, this is the nicer ones."

He soon spotted what he thought was Chloe and Kala. It was most likely the electric yellow one was Chloe while the fiery red one was Kala. He also spotted an extremely bright blue light that bordered one white where he assume Cydra was hovering. It was hard to make out any details of him, but Matt could spot something that might have been very tightly furled wings. "It's rude to stare, you know," said Cydra's echoing voice.

"Tough cookies, why am I getting the willies?" snapped Matt, before turning and almost screaming to see a vast black cloud with several dozen red eyes .

"Ah, good, you've noticed," said Cydra before the ground shook and the fiery streaks expanded out further, with blackness mixed within them.

"What was that? An earthquake?" asked Matt.

"That, my lad, was a golem," said Cydra.

"That's one of those planet busters?" snapped Matt, pointing as one of the eyes said "Little sparks...this is our world."

"Yes, and it seems that someone has been prodding them awake," said Cydra.

"Tiny necromancer...thinks he can command us...this world is ours, broken it may be," said another of the voices, sounding female but just as slimy.

"Necromancer? Ghoulwyrm can't possibly think that he can call up the golems, can he?" asked Chloe.

"Irrelevant beings," said a third voice before a blast of darkness hit the gang.

The shock pushed the trio back into the mortal plane. And they quickly noticed the horde of grublins giving them a sinister glare. "Erm...Cydra?" called Chloe, the grublins all turning their heads in unison to stare. It was noted that they all seemed to have different colors over the constant red from last time they had seen but their cold calculating glare was familiar.

"Normally, I would be happy to assist with disposing of these malevolent creatures," said Cydra, "Unfortunately, there's a bit of jurisdiction problem."

"Jurisdiction?!" snapped Matt, "They're evil buggers, you're right there, just kill them!"

"These creatures are forces of nature and my demesne is constrained to artificial lifeforms," said Cydra, "Unless they were threatening a larger group than you three, I'm not allowed to intervene."

One of the grublins turned to look at Cydra at that before it said in the first voice from earlier, "Halfling...this is our world...we will take it back."

"Halfling? I'm...not perfectly described by that image, but I'm not going to nitpick about it. I might not be allowed to confront you, but I can give you a warning: stand down," said Cydra.

"Tiny, tiny halfling...leave," said another of the grublins before they all fired at him...all 400 of them.

Cydra turned to the trio and said, "I cannot stay, but remember this: do not forget your experience on the elemental plain. Remember what it was like to have a foot in both the mortal and elemental plains. You'll need to keep that in your thoughts when you assume elemental form again." He vanished before the grublins' shot could land.

The trio were thrown off their feet from the explosion before they noticed the grublins now looking at them. "Guys, I think we need to run," said Matt .

"Uh, from what I recall, aren't these the lowest grunt of Malefor's forces, the ones that are, sometime literally, cannon fodder?" asked Chloe.

"To Malefor, yes. I've seen these things at work...and they just scared away your watcher. I think they're tough..." he began before all three grabbed their heads in pain as a voice said "You...little sparks...go...and tell your people to leave...the monkeys and the lizards all...this world is ours."

"Oh, like we're gonna listen to you," said Kala before throwing a pair of fireballs at the grublins.

The fireballs hit a couple of grublins that crumpled, though two more dragged themselves out of the sand immediately to replace it, one of the larger 'dunes' moving as a much larger golem dragged itself free, its eyes the same color as the cloud ones.

"Ok...we might need some backup," said Kala.

"LEAAAVE!" said the voice more angrily, causing the three to vanish in bursts of red light...

...and be dumped in the fountain in New Atlantis's central square.

"Ok, those guys are a lot more powerful than I remember," said Matt, "Not to mention more talkative."

"They had Malefor in charge last time...wait, did they say necromancer?" said Chloe, pausing.

Devina, Raptor, Scorch, Red and Vipra looked at the badly-charred head of Ghoulwyrm before Vipra said cheerfully. "So how did it go?"

"Well, they definitely woke up when I called for them," said Ghoulwyrm, "But, they didn't seem that eager to accept me as their master."

"No kidding...you realize what you've done, you idiot, right?" said Devina calmly .

"I've sent the golems of the deep on their destructive rebirth of the world a few centuries too early?" guessed Ghoulwyrm.

"No, that was just something Malefor convinced them to do. They think they own this planet and we're all trespassers. What do you do to trespassers, 'master'?" said Devina icily .

"Depends on the mood I'm in that day. Sometimes, I throw them down the bottomless hole until I'm tired of the screams and then toss them out. Sometimes I throw them to the giant leeches," said Ghoulwyrm, "But if I'm a particularly vicious mood, I strip them of their flesh and add them to my ever-growing force of skeletal servants."

"Exactly, they will kill everyone and everything on this world that isn't them, you fool!" snapped Devina .

"Well, if I hadn't received such cutting insults and demeaning remarks from my so-called followers, I might have been willing to think this summoning through some more!" snapped Ghoulwyrm.

"No, you, in your ignorance, went after things beyond your control. Even Malefor waited many years before even attempting it the first time," snapped Devina .

Ghoulwyrm turned to Raptor and snapped, "This is your fault! Why did you have to goad me on like that?!"

"Oh, so now I'm the reason the world's about to end?" asked Raptor dryly.  
Devina nodded. "Our ex-leader is correct. This was a time that your silence would have been benefitted from," said Devina before glaring at Ghoulwyrm, "You however are clearly ill-fitted to lead."

"Oh, and I suppose one of you has the power to step up and fill my spot?" asked Ghoulwyrm dryly.

"Not yet, but when the _one_ useful thing you've done finally bears fruit, we shall rise up possibly higher than before," said Raptor.  
Vipra looked confused before saying, "He'll discover the perfect mocha latte?"

"No, fool, he planted the seed of darkness in Lumina which will make her grow into a perfect Dark Mistress," said Raptor.

"Yes, and no one else could have done it better than I," said Ghoulwyrm, "Which is why I'm the perfect choice for your leader until she grows up."

"No, if we let you lead, we'll be dead or incarcerated in crystal before the year is out," snapped Red, losing his own patience .

"Oh, that's some gratitude to the guy who saved you from spending eternity as a crystal shard on a cave floor," said Ghoulwyrm.

"I think I would have preferred oblivion over you," said Red harshly .

"And you two, if I hadn't come along, you'd still be hanging out with your loser friends doing nothing but complain!" snapped Ghoulwyrm at Scorch and Vipra.

Scorch simply said, "We'd already met Mistress Devina." causing Ghoulwyrm to get infuriated .

"Now listen here, you mutinous curs! I might have had setbacks, but I've got a lot more perseverance and malevolence than that violet hatchling will ever amass even if she's accumulated a hundred years' worth of darkness! And don't think I can't easily find replacements for the entire lot of you!" roared Ghoulwyrm, partially bursting into purple flames as he ranted.

Devina simply said, "Oh shut up," nodding and causing a shadow portal to appear underneath Ghoulwyrm and drag him down.

"Where'd you send him?" asked Vipra.

"Oh, some place where he can cool off his temper," said Devina with a smirk.

When Ghoulwyrm landed, his first sensation was cold, very cold. He looked around to see snow and ice as far as the eye could see. Oh, and a penguin looking at him curiously.

"What are you looking at?" snapped Ghoulwyrm, before going bug eyed as the penguin put an army tin hat on and what looked like a collar with two bazookas attached.

"Oi'm looking at today's target practice," it said in a British accent.

"Er, now, now, no need to be violent," said Ghoulwyrm a little nervously.

The reply was two shots to him, his last words for the next few days being, "Oh feldammit."

Meanwhile, the trio had rushed to the council with news about the incoming golem uprising. Not surprisingly, there were a few skeptics.

"Ok, let's get this straight: we magically got sandy, got singed and appeared out of thin air in the city square for fun, ok?" said Matt, not in the mood for Zara and her supporters .

"Well, you can't honestly expect us to believe that Ghoulwyrm awoke the golems just because you've said so," said Zara, "Have you not stated on numerous occasions that he's all bark and no bite?"

"He has his moments, like Mina's naming ceremony...or have we forgotten that?" said Kala angrily .

"Placing a dormant curse on a hatchling is one thing," said Zara, "Awakening elemental forces that can repave the world is several levels higher than that."

"Awakened, yes...controlled, definitely not. I think they're gonna attack," said Matt desperately .

"What proof do you have other than your word?" asked Zara.

"Tell you what, you weren't in Warfang for the first battle. Why don't you ask Spyro or the Guardians about the great fun it was and then maybe you should take me serious," snapped Matt, getting an insane look .

Zara turned to the other dragons and asked, "Have any of you received any other word or possibly that the golems are on the move?"

"Nothing yet, however that does not mean they are not on the move," said Terrador calmly .

"And how can you consider that it's even a possibility?" asked Zara.

"Lynch has been proven right time and again, usually when you're in opposition," said Cyril.

"But these are the forces of Malefor, surely we would have received more word than this if they were returning," said Zara.

"Forces of Malefor, yes...his creations, no. They are their own creatures, creatures of the deep world," said Cyril, his tome becoming dark and the light seeming to fade as he spoke .

"They are far more ancient than the dragon race itself," said Terrador, "I'm not sure what dark magic allows them to be called up, but these beings only care about one thing: destruction."

"No, they said they considered this world theirs. I think they're evicting us." said Matt gloomily .

"Evicting us? As if we were nothing but common beggars and loiterers?" asked Cyril, "What do they even care about what happens on the surface of this world? They never use it."

"Maybe they used to? The original golem legend on my world said it needs a living soul to work," said Chloe distantly .

"I'm well-read regarding the golems that your world knows of," said Morgan, "But asides from their rocky formation, there is little parallel between the two. The golems of your world's folklore were animated servants. These creatures are primordial elementals, dwellers of the molten core."

"I'm pretty sure the core is crystal," said Spyro.

Matt snapped, "That's enough of that! We need a plan to stop these things before they stomp us into toe jam."

"Can't we just smash them to pieces?" asked Spyro.

"Unfortunately, these creatures are no longer animated with dark crystals," said Chloe, "They're harder to smash and, more importantly, easier to replenish themselves."

"Yeah, we blew up a couple and immediately, two more popped up like angry little weeds," said Matt .

"Mayhap a diplomatic solution may be advisable," said Volteer, "I have received numerous reports that your triumvirate has experienced episodes in which your corporeal form transmute into manifestations of your respective elements. Perhaps these primordial denizens of the sub-terrain would be more inclined to commune and barter with energy beings of a similar composition to them."

"I don't think these guys negotiate," said Matt carefully, before the doors burst open and a couple of angry-looking wyvern burst in.

"Must we really need to listen to more of your 'equal rights' protests?" asked Zara in an annoyed voice.

"Monsters…in the slums...they took our people...killed others that they saw regardless of age!" snapped the wyvern before pointing at a shadow dragon in the council, "That...your so called leader of security laughed off our claims...says less is better."

Spyro turned to the shadow dragon and asked sternly, "Is this true?"

The shadow dragon simply looked smug. "Lies and slander," he said, before Matt twitched and his eyes turned elemental, stalking towards the shadow dragon.

"Look me in the eye and say that," he said in a echoing voice .

The shadow dragon took one look at him, jumped back, and screamed, "What are you?!"

"I'm your personal hell if you don't tell the truth to my good friend, Spyro," hissed Matt, Kala walking forward, only for Chloe to gently stop her

"Well, er, the wyverns were complaining as they were typically known to do, and the idea of the golems rising up was preposterous, so why investigate that?" asked the shadow dragon meekly.

Spyro glared at that before saying in a cold voice, "Get out."

After the shadow dragon left, Spyro turned to the wyverns and said, "I'm sorry about this. We can-"

"What? You think we'd accept anything from after this?!" snapped the head wyverns, "We've been pressed down under your claws ever since we've left our island. We've been asking for equal rights, but you show outright mirth when we're attacked! Why shouldn't we just rise up and take the city for ourselves?!"

"Then I'd be forced to kill you," said Matt in a level tone, causing the wyvern to turn his head to face him as Matt continued, "As well as everyone else here for letting this idiocy go that far."

Kala quickly went over to Matt and said, "Ok, Matt, you've made your point. You can lower the elementality now."

Matt snorted and said, "Elementality, that's a good...wait a second..." He paused before looking around, everything in the green taint before jumping as he turned to where he could sense the same darkness from the desert and the wall seemed to melt away to let him see a cloud gathering over the slums before he came back to reality, everyone looking at him concerned.

"Matt? What happened?" asked Kala.

"Er, did I start speaking in tongues?" asked Matt.

"No, you just screamed," said Kala.

"They're here," said Matt, in a small voice .

"What? Now? But we haven't had time to prepare!" cried Zara.

"Oh yes we would have, if you had bothered to listen!" snapped Chloe.

"Let's focus on survival first," said Kala.

The group turned to see Matt had left...

Matt staggered into the slums, his usually damaged psyche shaking under the presence of various golems around. He stopped as he saw a wyvern crash, trying to back up as a new type of grublin, with an almost hypodermic needle-like blade on its arm advancing

"Hey, get your spikes away from him!" shouted Matt.

"I'm a girl, dumbass!" shouted the wyvern.

"Oh, sorry, hard to tell from a distance," called Matt.

The grublin turned to look at Matt and he winced as he suddenly found himself unable to move as the grublin walked onwards towards the wyvern who tried to turn to get away, only for two more to appear and grab her. The grublin chittered before stabbing her in the arm, glowing veins extending from the point of its strike.

The wyvern began to shriek as stone flowed out from the veins, spreading up her wing, across her body and finally over her head, silencing her

"You monsters! She didn't deserve that!" yelled Matt as he conjured a plasma orb.

The 'wyvern' turned to look at Matt at that, her mouth now a glowing maw and her eyes the same color before she said "You were warned," its claws extending into the same needles .

"Oookay, didn't see that coming," said Matt, backing up.

The wyvern walked forward before stepping aside as a far more humanoid grublin appeared, its eyes red and face mouthless. "You were warned back in the sand...leave. Your people have ignored us...a more personal representative is required," it said

"Oh, that supposed to be you?" asked Matt, "Good luck telling them to go without a mouth."

"No...you will go...you will join us as our...Ambassador is the correct phrase?" said the golem, saying the last word in puzzlement before the wyvern stabbed him in the chest.

"Oh please, I'm already part elemental plus an A-001er. There's no way you can mess with my mind," said Matt, "That still really hurts though."

"Give it time...you are a weak elemental...easily fanned and molded," sneered the grublin, Matt looking down to see the stone spreading from the puncture .

"Hey, I'm a plasma elemental, you have any idea what that is?" asked Matt.

"Yes...many of my children used to be such..." laughed the grublin .

"Children? Ew..." said Matt before the rock covered up his mouth.

"You let him walk into the slums?" screamed Chloe, glaring at the slum guards, her temper not helped that they seemed to be casual despite the screams from inside the slums

"Like we could have stopped him," said one of the guards.

"You could have easily. That form you saw him in is all he can manage. You coulda stepped on him!" snapped Chloe

"And there are people in there screaming in pain, why aren't you helping?" snapped Kala.

"There are _wyverns_ in there screaming in pain, why should we help?" asked one guard.  
Kala snarled at that, transforming to her dragon form and blasting the guard flying. Chloe similarly transformed into her dragon form and snarled at the remaining guard, "Join us or join him."

The guard glared before falling into line, the group headed in. As they headed in, one of the newsports lit up. "A unknown mutagen has been detected in deployment...this area is now locked down. Please return to your home," said an announcement calmly. More worryingly though, the screams had petered out.

"What kind of mutagen can elementals make?" asked Kala, "There's no such thing as a toxic elemental, is there?"

"Maybe, does poison truly count as an element?" asked Chloe.

"Voiceprint recognized. Welcome Shar Lynch. Golems known as grublins are increasing for each wyvern lifeform subtraction. Conclusion: a mutagen is being deployed. Please note...Shar M Lynch entered the zone before lockdown...his lifesign is no longer active," said the newsport .

"Er, shouldn't we be turning back?" asked the guard dragon.

"NO!" snapped the dragonesses.

"Please note...outbreak is classified as phase 3...upon classification of phase 4, this district will be detached from the main body to avoid further contamination," said the computer calmly .

"What does it mean 'detached from the main body'?" asked Kala, "It couldn't mean that they've found some way of separating this landmass from the planet itself, does it?"

"Simple enough, explosives, snap this district clean off and let it fall," said Chloe bitterly, looking round a corner to see a couple of dead wyvern .

"Sounds like-" started the guard dragon before both dragonesses growled at him, "...A really bad thing."

The two dragonesses turned away, the guard glaring and turning to slip down an alley and coming face to face with a converted wyvern, who stabbed its claws into his neck, the stone spreading fast

"So, how are we gonna get Matt to snap out of...whatever's been done to him?" asked Chloe

"I dunno, I..." began Kala, turning and screaming, Chloe spinning to see the guard almost fully converted

"Oh, so it's that kind of mutagen," said Chloe, backing up.

The ex-guard and its attacker turned to hiss at them before pausing, tilting their heads before walking off in a trance .

"Hmm...that's not normal for zombies, right?" asked Kala.

"They're not zombies, they're...I don't know, actual golems?" suggested Chloe.

"You have come...to negotiate?" said a hissing voice, Chloe turning and almost bursting into tears at the sight of a golem that looked exactly like Matt's anthro form, even down to having blue energy veins .

"Matt, what have they done to you?" cried Kala.

"I am Ambassador...I will deliver the terms," said 'Matt', staring coldly at them .

"I'm not about to let you use my bushi bu as a mouthpiece!" snapped Kala before blasting Matt in the face.

The blast removed the rock around his muzzle, revealing his normal flesh underneath. "Ow, hey, careful with that! I still need that to-" said Matt with his normal voice before the other voice said, "You will listen to our demands."

The stone quickly recovered, 'Ambassador' making a sweep and sending Kala flying. "Further hostilities will be responded to in kind. Our demands are as follows. This planet was once ours, when we had organic and mortal forms, rent with illness and mutation until the creatures from the stars came. They gave us these new forms...then attempted to control us. The planet surface was rendered uninhabitable and we saw no reason to return once it recovered."

"Wait a sec, I thought you guys were-" started Chloe.

"Do not interrupt," said the Ambassador, "We have lived beneath the surface of this world peacefully, but then one you called Malefor disturbed us, bound us with his dark crystals, and forced us to do his bidding. And most recently, a foolish necromancer attempted the same thing. We will not tolerate any more aggression towards us. There is only one acceptable conclusion: we shall reclaim our old world, above and below."

"That bloody undead idiot," muttered Chloe before saying out loud, "Malefor and Ghoulwyrm are criminals in our world. We don't want to cause trou-" only for Ambassador to say "Organic promises are feeble. Your leading elemental will converse with us. You have four gaveks to comply or the dolmen will reclaim their world be force. This conversation is terminated." With that, the rock covering Matt crumbled, allowing Matt to fall over.

"Matt...are you..." began Kala, only for Matt to say, "It's serious...it's...it's..." he began, doubling over as the rock spread again, this time seemingly growing from the skin

"Matt, no!" screamed Chloe.

Ambassador stood back up, several plasma crystal pockmarking it before it said, "This one shall remain until our demands are met."

"Give him back, you talking geode!" snapped Chloe before both dragonesses were catapulted out by the very ground they were standing on.

The girls walked out sadly, the computer letting them back out calmly only to see a mix of NSC and the dragon security councildragon and his men outside.

"What are you doing here?" snarled Kala.

"Our ship was grounded by this disease," snapped the NSC diplomat, wearing a combat suit.

"I'd hardly call it a disease," said Chloe.

"You're right, they're being drafted into the enemy army," said the security councildragon, "As such, they're traitors to our nation."

"Are you kidding? These things took out the entire Banshee Cannon battalion in under 20 minutes and then they were mindless, now they think. They'll tear you apart!" snapped Chloe .

"Rocks can be blasted apart," said the NSC diplomat only for Kala's eyes and spines to burst into flames.

"Now listen here, you!" she roared, "We don't have time to waste with a bunch of warmongers, especially ones who are trying to pick a fight they can't win!"

"You going to stop us?" sneered the security chief before Kala paused and smirked evilly.

"Go right ahead," she said in a surprisingly icy voice for someone partially on fire .

"Er, sir, you sure we want to pick a fight with them?" asked one NSC soldier.

"McNeil wanted them back anyways," said the diplomat, "Shoot their knees out."

The security guard surprisingly snarled at that, "As distasteful as it is, they are under the city's protection and they will not leave." causing the troopers to groan and move in, the diplomat walking over to a command station with two guards, Chloe and Kala shifting to human to watch.

"Shouldn't we be trying to stop hostilities that would aggravate the elementals?" asked Kala.

"Oh, I'm sure they won't mind that much," said Chloe, "Besides, we have four gaveks before we have to negotiate with them. What the heck is a gavek by the way?"

"Something judges hit with hammers?" said Kala.

"Control, this is alpha one...entering slums...dragon guards are on the rooftops...no contacts," said alpha one, checking his rifle .

"Roger that, keep alert, grublins are known to attack from below ground," said control.

"Ok...check your sixes," said alpha one before his motion tracker went nuts, superimposed over a street map and showing multiple dots. He turned to his men in horror before Ambassador rose up behind him and twisted his head off as easy as somebody unscrewing a bottle. A second later, 50 grublins ran out of the alleys and swarmed the team . Unfortunately for some, it appeared the grublins were near their quota for converted victims, so quite a few were butchered where they stood.

The security chief however was left alive, though his wings were torn up. The Ambassador was approaching him and the security chief was pretty certain who he was. There was only one Shar-Khan who would have plasma crystals growing from him. "You...you fucking traitor," he managed, the Ambassador tilting his head.

"You...locked the organics here in barely livable conditions...back at the height of the dolmen concourse, you would have been executed as mentally incompatible to the whole," it said.

"I don't have to justify myself to a monster like you!" snapped the security chief.

"Then join ussss…" said the Ambassador, sticking his hand in the chief's chest . The security chief gasped and gurgled as his hide became encrusted with rocks.

The NSC diplomat stared in horror as Ambassador picked up the head of alpha one, which had fallen at the perfect angle to watch the massacre before it started. "Do not attempt this feeble gesture again," before he apparently crushed the head, camera and all

"You see that? You incredible foolhardiness got all of them killed or converted," snapped Chloe.

The diplomat put on a calm face and said, "The first wave is always lost. It's what the rest can do that matters in war."

"You sonnova..." began Kala only for it to be Chloe to clock the diplomat one

Chloe turned to Kala and said, "Ok, Kala, since we're the only ones who count as elementals, it's up to us to settle things out with the...uh, what did they call themselves?"

"The dolmen, whoever they were," said Kala, "Think anyone else would know?"

"I doubt it." said Chloe gloomily

"Hmm...think Cydra's still in the area?" asked Kala.

"Ask and you shall receive," said a disembodied voice, Cydra appearing on top of the unconscious diplomat.

"Good, I don't suppose you can help out with settling matters with the elementals, can you?" asked Chloe.

"I'm afraid I'm still bound by the limitations of my demesne," said Cydra, "I would help if I could, but my hands are tied."

"Well, you can at least give us the accurate version of this world's history," said Kala, "They say they are, or were, dolmen and were made that way by 'visitors from the stars'. That cancels with your whole 'primeval shapers of draconic evolution' tale, doesn't it?"

"No, it doesn't," said Cydra, "The dragons' evolution was shaped by elementals, but that was before the dolmen became what they are now. The dolmen, rat-descended space pirates, nomadic, weak immune systems, they died out during the ashen war. Myth goes they lost their homeworld when they made a deal that backfired on them spectacularly."

"So they traded in their flesh and blood for stone and magma?" asked Chloe.

"Seems likely. There were a few races capable of artificial elementalization...not pleasant people," said Cydra darkly .

"Uh huh, and how is this going to help us with keeping them from upturning the surface world?" asked Kala.

"Well, first off, there's only one way they'll listen to you: by speaking on the elemental plane in elemental form," said Cydra.

"Right, because we'd so worried about terra firma in that state," said Chloe sarcastically.

"No matter how much a lifeform transmute or transcends, there's always a part of its original self lying at its core, excepting things involving demonic energies and such," said Cydra, "When you transform into elemental form, there's still a mortal core within you. You've learned to see as an elemental with moral eyes, now it will be easier to see as a moral though elemental ones. The dolmen are the same way, they too have remnants of their mortal selves. You must remind them what it was like to be mortal."

"Great, cause we really have the elemental down," snapped Kala.

"Oh, is that your only problem?" asked Cydra clicking his metal fingers. A sudden heat/charge went through the two women before their clothes were disintegrated. They barely had time to recognize their nudity before their body composition shifted to that of fire and electricity.  
Cydra rubbed his hands together before he sensed he'd left the minds out. "Activate god mode," he joked to himself before going into their heads and making the right connections. "Cydra, you still got it," he said to himself before angry hisses made him say nervously, "Sometimes too much for your own good. Girls...I had too...we can't waste time with the slow way."

"I liked those clothes," buzzed Chloe, glaring and sparking at Cydra.

"Yes, well, I suppose in time you'll be able to adjust your usual clothing adjusting spells to accommodate your elemental forms."

"Do you really think we're just going to go out there naked like this," crackled Kala, heat going off her in abundance.

"You have nothing to hide in your current states," pointed out Cydra, "Though you'd probably need privacy to revert back to normal. This change might tire you out too much to access your dragon forms when you revert."

"We are not going naked!" snapped Kala, her fire hair flaring up .

Cydra sighed and said, "Ok, let me see what I can work with." He looked around before spreading out his hands. Bright blue energy swept around the room, gathering up rubber and asbestos. The pieces went over to Chloe and Kala and start melting together across their bodies. The process ended after each was wearing a skintight sports bra and short shorts made of rubber and asbestos respectively. "That's it?" snapped Chloe.

"What, did you expect me to make a whole summer wardrobe?" asked Cydra dryly, "I only had so much material to work with here and there's not time to look for more."

Kala, however, was looking at herself wearing an asbestos sports bra and shorts and thinking that if this couldn't snap Matt out of it...before Chloe slapped her back to sense across the back of the head

A short time later, the three of them walking through the slums. Well, hovering, really. Chloe and Kala didn't need to let their feet touch the ground in this form and Cydra had no feet at all. A dozen or so grublins stared at them dully from the side, though through their elemental eyes, they looked more rodent-shaped.

"I can take you to their leader, but you'll have to deal with negotiations," said Cydra, "Matt may have mentioned it, but the plasma dragons have a way of sharing memories via their plasma connection. Other dragons have this ability, but nearly all of them find it incredibly difficult to achieve it. It's not a problem for the psychic dragons of course. But elementals also share that property, easier to access than the dragons. You can use it to convey your meanings to the dolmen. But be warned, their store of memories is vast and ancient, it is difficult not to become lost among them."

"That's what's wrong with Matt?" asked Kala.

Cydra nodded. "Probably, one drop of plasma among all these elementals, too easy," he said, the group turning the corner to see Ambassador standing, still in the carnage of alpha teams failed attack.

The Ambassador appeared greatly interested in Kala and probably would have spoken in a friendlier fashion if the greater consciousness behind said coldly, "You have arrived. I was honestly not expecting to have the courage. But I suppose that comes from your uninvited friend."

"The watchers do not take kindly to their charges being assimilated," said Cydra coldly .

"There are laws against your interference," said the Ambassador.

"True, but not about escorting," said Cydra.

Kala glared before hovering forward, "We negotiate on behalf of the surface."

"And what perversion of loyalty would make you stand with them?" asked the Ambassador.

"I wouldn't expect a bunch of pirates to understand loyalty," said Chloe sharply.

The Ambassador turned and said," You refer to what is left of the conclaves space fleets. They were unable to return due to the radiation. You will not speak of them again." before he turned back to Kala. "The fire elemental will represent the surface."

"Dolmen, your people that did not transcend became nomadic, always travelling to find a new home. This planet is as much a home to the dragons, cheetahs, moles, centaurs, and all the other races as much as it is to you. Most of them don't have means of leaving this world and would you force the ones who could to the same endless wandering you were forced to endure?" asked Kala.

"That is not the conclave's concern. This world was our property...and we have observed many space-faring vessels since we resurfaced," said the Ambassador coldly .

"But consider that you don't even need to use the surface," said Kala, "Your kind rule over the mantle and the core. Can't the surface be left to others who need it?"

"That is not logical. An attack would be carried out as your minions have proven," said Ambassador, pointing to the corpses

"They attack because they are afraid and ignorant," said Kala, "Your indentured servitude to Malefor left a dark mark on your race. The people see you only as monsters of destructions, but they can be taught to co-exist peacefully with you."  
"This host indicates the warlike nature of the current dominant civilizations. A war already rages as well as a war within one of your nests. You are unpredictable," said Ambassador

"Look, what would you even do with the planet once you have control? You realize your method of seizing control will render it barren," said Kala.

"Negative, those who surrender will be spared and allowed to evacuate. Plant life and non-sentient species will be spared. The biosphere will remain intact," said Ambassador .

"Look, I don't think you realize how much oppression you're imposing, how much misery you're forcing on everyone. I know that you were mortals once. Don't you have any pity left for mortals?" asked Kala.

"We were shown no pity. Where was our aid when the Ashen pressed on our borders and conquered our garden worlds? The Akati claimed to help us yet wanted us only for minions," said Ambassador, his eyes glowing in the element vision .

"The Ashen don't have a...wait, who are the Akati?" asked Chloe.

"They are creatures of treachery and darkness. They promise you anything you wish then provide a price you cannot pay," said Ambassador .

"Well, they're no longer a threat anymore," said Kala.  
"That is in doubt. Their planet was destroyed but like us, their ships were not all accounted for," said Ambassador before shaking his head, "Your people are equally untrusting. The creatures of this...pit were oppressed for simply existing...hardly enlightened."

"They were raised with stories to scare their young into behaving," said Chloe.

"Again, you demonstrate your irrational fear of the unknown and your desire to suppress what you do not understand," said the Ambassador.

"Hey, we had nothing to do with it! It was the actions of a few leading the many!" snapped Kala.

The Ambassador said, "Then provide a real logical reason to cancel the consensus."

Kala thought desperately before blurting out, "Because you're acting the same way!"  
The Ambassador raised a ridge and said, "Elaborate."

"You claim we are prone to suppress those that you do not understand," said Kala, "But you are also demonstrating that behavior. You do not bother to try to fully understand the surface dwellers. You attempt to find as acceptable an excuse as you can find to force them to leave. How can that be different from what you're judging us with?"  
"Our knowledge is perfectly sufficient of your previous species," said the Ambassador calmly .

"Sufficient as in 'you're only aware of the basic flaws'?" asked Kala pointedly.

"Elaborate," said the Ambassador in his infuriating calm .

Kala gave him an annoyed look before saying, "You know of our fears and our rejections, but you do not understand our beliefs, our ideals, our hopes, our dreams, our arts, our connections, our way of living."  
The Ambassador simply repeated "Elaborate", much to Kala's annoyance, causing her to stomp forward and grab his head.

It felt like the mental equivalent of opening a floodgate and being washed backwards by a torrent of water, though in this case, the water was the collective memories of the dolmen race. Kala struggled to keep herself from 'drowning' and tried to focus upon her own memories, trying to make them into a raft.

She saw the first space launch for the dolmen race and the civic pride it gave...the uniting of the tribes when the first jump engine was made...first contact...the horrors of countless wars against species that wished them ill for no reason...disease unleashed on them by the Ashen...death...misery...she screamed as she finally got her memories together and pushed them forward.

As she pushed forward, she recalled flashes of her own memories: her times as a simple experiment before being repurposed for war…meeting Matt for the first time…their several adventures together…the time she was turned into a gargoyle which made the first sparks of romance between them…her brief tenure as a Shar-Khan when she revisited that particular New York…transfusing a portion of her soul to help NegaMorph…making love with Matt the first time…the difficult choice of becoming a Shar-Khan more permanently…brief flashes of Kai…her rescue by Matt from the Shar-Virk…the pain of being upgraded to a Shar-Ekta…the time she was infected with the Ghoulwyrm flu…the first time she activated her elemental form…her agonizingly long torture of being a non-speaking dragon and unrecognizable by Matt…her anguish at Matt's injuries at Taleth's hands…her joy of finally reuniting with Matt…her grief at learning she was unable to bear children…her intense rivalry with Keenai…and finally her pleasant stay at Luau Island with Matt.

The Ambassador threw her back, the other grublins advancing before pausing. It seemed Ambassador was a leader. "You...make satisfactory arguments...the consensus is withdrawn...on one condition. The creatures known as wyverns remain as our surface representatives with full rights. This is _not_ negotiable," he said .

"What...all does that entail?" asked Kala, who was rather weary from the experience.

They will be citizens of the conclave. Any mistreatment of them will result in the consensus being resumed without further diplomatic negotiations," said Ambassador .

"I suppose that is agreeable," said Chloe, "But what do the wyverns themselves say?"

The Ambassador was silent for a bit before he said, "They agree. Those who wish to remain as they currently are will do so. Others will be reverted."

"Ok, I think we can agree to that," said Kala, "Can we get that out in writing so that there isn't any miscommunication about it?"  
A grublin came up, holding a crystal tablet with the agreement in a mix of Avalarian and what was presumably dolmenese. "Oh, fancy," commented Chloe.

"Naturally it's indestructible," said the Ambassador, "So there is literally no breaking or altering it."

Kala nodded before saying, "Now give me back my boyfriend."

"This host is quite compatible with-" started the Ambassador before Kala flared and growled, "Give...me...back...my...boyfriend."

The Ambassador glared before nodding, a mist flowing out of Matt who fell forward, unconscious. The rocks and crystals covering him crumbled apart, revealing his normal anthro form underneath. "Matt!" cried Kala rushing towards him. She reached to hold him, but hesitated, not sure if she could touch Matt with her flaming arms.

Cydra said, "Just concentrate, contain your heat...oh screw it." clicking his fingers and changing Kala back.

Kala fell to her knees, shaking from the drop of energy. She slowly reached out and touched Matt. "Matt, are you alright? Speak to me," she begged.

"Just five more minutes..." said Matt quietly .

Chloe rolled her electrical eyes and said, "He's fine."

Cydra nodded. "Now I think you should get that back to the council," he said, noticing the dazed security chief staggering away.

"There are going to be a lot of dragons arguing against this, you know," said Chloe.

"If those dragons are the ones who were supposed to guarding and policing this area, fire them," said Cydra, "These wyverns aren't going to accept living in a ghetto anymore."

Matt nodded weakly. "And those things are deadly serious...trust me," he said weakly .

"Let's get you back home," said Kala before turning to Chloe and asking, "Aren't you going to power down?"

"So that all of Warfang can watch me walk by in near nothing?" asked Chloe scornfully, "No thanks, I'll change back in my quarters."

Before that though, they had to deliver the treaty. To say some of the council were unhappy was an understatement.

"Allow those miserable snakes with wings to be emissaries to those subterranean monsters?!" yelled one of the dragon councilors, "I'd sooner resign!"

"Great, don't forget your pink slip and don't let the door hit you on the way out," said Matt.

The dragon snarled at that, only a glare from the guardians silencing him while another said, "They're vermin serving monsters. We should be fighting, not capitulating."

"Apparently you've not been paying attention to what they're capable of," said Matt, "They could flip this whole landmass over with everything on it. Besides, it's more than past time that some progressive changes are made around here."

Kala nodded. "Yeah, you're treating these wyverns like less than slaves. You're all acting like Malefor." she snapped .

The dragons all made protesting remarks against this before Spyro said, "Enough! You have been ignoring these arguments for months but now you will listen. You have all been spurning the wyverns even though they have not done anything provoking. And the only reason you can give to this is because our parents have been stupid enough to use them as warnings to scare us into behaving and because they're so different than us. But that must all stop now. We will treat these wyverns as equals to dragons, which is even truer since they now have elemental powers like us. And if anyone here wants to protest, then they are no longer part of this council."

With that, several dragons and even a couple of Atlanteans stood up and stomped out, the original objector saying, "Just like every other purple before you...consorting with monsters." before he left

Terrador looked at the depleted rows of council seats and sighed. "You've made a lot of enemies this day," he said.

"I'd rather I know have my enemies directly oppose me than pretend to work beside me," said Spyro.

"I don't mind so much," said Xander, "I think the future of this world requires a council of forward-thinkers, not those who'll mire themselves in the past."  
Matt turned to look at Zara who was still sat in her position. "Surprised you stuck around," he said casually .

"I will not deny that all this change...discomforts me," said Zara, "And yet, you've been able to prove me wrong time and again. I do not like seeing my culture being warped before me, but I know dividing our people will lead to worse ruin. But don't expect me to agree with everything."

Matt shrugged and said, "Eh, sometimes a devil's advocate isn't a bad thing."  
Zara glared at that, "Hey!"

"It's a legal term, well a term of some kind," said Kala, "It means someone who vouches for an opposing ideal solely for the sake of debate."

Zara glared before nodding at that. "Now if you excuse me, I have to send some of my clan to keep an eye on our ex-councilmembers," she said . She was about to leave but then she paused and said, "Oh, and before I forget, there is still one matter that must be settled."

"What's that?" asked Kala.

"The arrest of the necromancer Ghoulwyrm," said Zara harshly, getting several murmurs of agreement.

"Really? You want him arrested?" asked Matt, a little surprised.

"As you have pointed out, the dracolich has the occasional moment of victory. But after this debacle, we can no longer wait for one of his plots to wreak havoc, intentionally or accidentally, upon the civilization we've worked so hard to rebuild," said Zara, "Therefore, I propose that we commission Captain Lynch and his crew to find, capture, and bring back Ghoulwyrm by any means necessary."

"Good, his bounty was last valued at 400 million, dead or alive," said Matt, suddenly all business before a fireball engulfed his head and he said in a rasp, "Discount for government work."

However, finding Ghoulwyrm was no simple matter. Since there was an entire planet with countless hiding spots available, the crew resorted to Megan's locating magic to find him. The results were...unsatisfying.

"What do you mean he isn't onworld?" snapped Matt .

"I've checked and redid it four times," said Megan, "Every time shows negative about being on the planet."

"But...that's impossible!" snapped Matt .

"Well, he must have some means of moving to other worlds. Otherwise, we wouldn't be running into him so much," said Megan.

"Good point...and us without a ship," groaned Matt .

"Uh, you've gotten your clean bill of mental health. Why can't we have our ship back?" asked Megan.

"It's in bits," said Chloe flatly .

"They took it apart?!" snapped Megan.

"They confiscated it. They said a new ship's being put together for us," said Matt gloomily .

"Oh, that's nice, I guess," said Megan, "How long before it's finished?"

"A month," said Chloe, Matt bursting into tears.

"Hmm, that's troubling. Hopefully Ghoulwyrm won't cause too much trouble until we..." Megan paused as she looked at Chloe, who was still wearing the rubber clothes that she had in elemental clothes. "Uh, Chloe, why are you wearing that?" asked Megan.

"Oh, because it's surprisingly comfortable," said Chloe, "It gets pretty stuffy wearing armors all the time."

Kala rolled her eyes before Chloe said, "Why are you still wearing that?"

"Oh, uh, I need to practice with my...elemental form and getting fireproof clothes isn't easy and I don't want to burn up more clothes or end up in the nude," said Kala, not sounding completely honest.

Chloe smirked darkly, "Matt?"

Matt gave her an annoyed look and asked, "And are you practicing your elemental powers?"

Chloe made a cough before saying, "None of your business."

"Then if you're not doing that, you don't have a reason to be going around barely dressed in latex," snapped Matt.

"It's rubber," said Chloe, annoyed.

"Whatever, change into something...respectable," snapped Matt.

Kala sighed before saying, "Oh, stop it, the lot of you. If we're going to be stuck on Avalar until our ship is done, we might as well make the most of it. We ought to be helping rebuild the city, bridge the gaps between the plasma dragons and the rest of dragon society, pushing for wyvern/dolmen tolerance, try to bring up civil standards to a respectable degree. If this is going to be our new home planet until the civil war's over, we might as well try to make it better."

The Lynches just stared before Matt said, "Well said." giving a short clap .

"Sure, why not?" said Chloe sounding bored joining in.  
Megan said with a smile, "Why not run for the council? You're definitely a peacemaker."

"Hmm...Councilor Kala...I like the sound of that. What do you think, Matt?" asked Kala.

Matt looked a little concerned. "You'd have to remain here," he said sadly .

"Oh...right..." said Kala, a little dejectedly.  
Chloe glared at Matt before saying. "Kala. It's your choice. Matt'll have to sleep alone." causing Kala to look annoyed

"Er, maybe she doesn't have to run for a council seat," said Megan, "Lots of great peacemakers were able to effect big changes without being in office."

Kala nodded, adding, "I'm gonna do it."

"Should I start making T-shirts?" asked Chloe sarcastically.

"Uh, aren't you supposed to be supportive?" asked Matt meaningfully.

"Well, rallying for wyvern rights isn't what I want to be doing for the next month," said Chloe in an annoyed tone.

"Then why not actually ask Chris out?" said Kala smugly, adding, "I found the picture."

"Yeah, get on with it," said Megan, causing the others to look at her. "What? I've had training from, er, in the seven deadly sins. I know lust when it's near, especially if it's repressed."

Chloe glared at everyone and ended up punching Matt when he said coyly, "I bet he'd love your outfit."

On a higher plane of existence, a different argument was going on. "You know fully well that there are grave consequences for breaking the rules," said Mr. Black sternly.

"I knew exactly what I was doing," said Cydra, "If you go over my actions, you'll see I have complied with our law."

An American-accented voice said, "That remains to be seen," an African-American with fire around his hands and hair...and his eyes said from the sidelines .

"It's better than not acting, Vanchas," said Cydra, "You could see the disasters that would unfold if they continued untrained."  
"You knew the dolmen were waking. That's why you went to the desert," said another, a female who looked like she was made of water, going by the name Kinita.

"Even I am capable of being surprised," said Cydra, "The chances of Ghoulwyrm actually waking the dolmen were remote. It was far more likely he'd end up with nothing but smoke in his face. It was just a lucky twist of fate that I was tutoring them at the time."

"And that's the story you are going with?" said a buzzing voice, an unnamed electrical watcher asked from a rafter .

"Yes, it simple luck," said Cydra calmly.

He was turning away when Mr. Black suddenly snapped out, "You overstep yourself, Cydrael Technitis al-Metatronus!"

Cydra froze, his normally free-flowing cloak slowing to a complete stop. "So, we're going to address each other that way," said Cydra in a voice as rigid as his cloak.

"Since it's the only way we can be certain you're serious," said Mr. Black.

"Tell us the truth, did you plan this?" said Vanchas .

Cydra turned and said, "I had regarded the awakening of the dolmen an insignificant possibility like the rest of you. I was not expecting the events to unfold as they did and I only did what I was allowed to do aid the Shar-Ekta. You know as well as I that children of chaos are the incarnation of unwritten fate and there was one upon that world that could have made the most out of the minute percentage of chance."

"If she is to act then so be it. The future's written in that aspect," said Kinita coldly .

"Naturally, you are not allowed to inform them that the creature is still there," said Mr. Black, "If you are permitted to contact them at all, that is."

Cydra glared before bowing reluctantly. "Matt's right, you're an asshole, Amandus," he said darkly .

"And you are a bleeding heart, Cydrael," retorted Mr. Black, "I would have expected that you had learned by now that your compassion will keep leading you into trouble."

"Better trouble and a clear conscience!" snapped Cydra .

"Enough," said the electric watcher, "Fighting among ourselves will lead to worst disasters. For the time being, Cydrael is on probation, but we are not to antagonize each other until it's finished. My greater concern is his promise to the mortals."

"Yes, the clones sent back in time..." said Mr. Black .

"Even you have to have enough of a heart to say that they deserve at least that much," said Cydra.

Mr. Black was about to reply 'no' when Kinita said, "I see no reason to not proceed."

"The two of them will never be able to return their original world," said Vanchas, "There wouldn't be any paradox if an alternate version of them were allowed to carry on their lives untouched."

Mr. Black glared at that, before assuming his old Atlantean form, "Fine. Squander things. I will be keeping up my appearances at the remnant."

* * *

And there's a final chapter. I hope there was sufficient exposition about the elementals for you wondering fans. And that hopefully isn't all you're satisfied with. True, Avalarian society is being increasingly altered, but at least it's making changes for the better.

The next story might take a while to get up and running, but it will be started before Halloween. What will it involve? I can't tell you yet. But if you keep an eye on my author page, you'll be seeing it at some point. Until then, please review.


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